This year we were supposed to make friends with a book within the framework of the subject History of Architecture. Throughout the year we were to deal with the book assigned to us in five different steps. Everyone was randomly assigned a book he/she had never heard of before. An old book. With this attitude I went into the task. Will I have to read the whole book? Will I understand it? Will I even be interested?
So I went about my tasks one by one. To get my points, not out of interest. This changed when I met the book for the first time. After a tedious journey to Einsiedeln, the librarian carefully prepared the book for me so that I could leaf through it. Only then I realized it. I was given the book “Regola delli cinque ordini d’architettura” by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. The book that has been mentioned so often in our lectures. As I leafed through the beautiful engravings, I gradually became aware of the value of these pages. For 458 years the book has been read, used and continued in other works. Before me lays one of the most successful and influential architectural textbooks of all time, as well as an important part of the basic knowledge of architecture.
With each new task, it became increasingly clear how relevant this work is for our subject and how much this original source of theory on the five pillars, Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite, will bring me in my exam preparation. In the five tasks we were not only introduced to the book, but also to the general treatment of such literary works. The process of befriending was explained to us step by step. From locating and putting the book into context, to reflecting and comparing it with other works. It also became clear in this process of getting to know each other that an online friendship with a personal encounter is not to be compared and that the book should be visited urgently if possible. A transcribed PDF does not tell the story in the same way as an original. Furthermore, the use of the internet as a scientific research medium was an important aspect in making friends with my book.
The handling of the book was much more important in our tasks than the content itself. However, the book that I had been given involuntarily was so interesting that I wanted to work on the content as well.