Augustin d’Aviler’s “Cours d’Architecture” discusses the 5 Orders by Vignola. While the 5 Orders are the main focus for d’Aviler’s comment, the greater value of his book is how he further developed these 5 Orders into more modern architecture.
TASK 1 Process:
When researching the connections that “Cours d’Architecture” has with other similar books I searched with the search term: “Augustin d’Aviler’s Cours d’Architecture”, using the exploration function. The initial “Topic of conversation” was “Order” and the search was conducted within the Xenotheca library (Alice brain). This search yielded several interesting hits. However based on these hits, I found that these were not pinning down the essence of d’Aviler’s comment, namely his development of the 5 Orders.
Therefore, I shifted to a “Topic of conversation” around “development”, and later on also “modern”. Both “development” and “modern” yielded very similar results.
TASK 2 Findings (books):
Mallgrave, Modern Architectural Theory: A Historical Survey, 1673–1968, first published in 2005, provides a comprehensive survey of architectural theory primarily in Europe and the USA. Modern Architectural Theory connects with Cours d’Architecture as the former surveys important literature that changed the direction and debate of architecture in the eighteenth century. In this context Cours d’Architecture is mentioned as a milestone in turning the focus away from a monumental architecture practice, towards a more residential planning and a consumer focused architecture. This by catering to the needs of the consumer rather than aiming at showing off and impressing.
Schumacher, The Autopoiesis of Architecture, Volume II: A New Agenda for Architecture, 2012, is a major theoretical work in which the author argues for that architecture should be understood as a distinct system of communication in itself.
The Autopoiesis of Architecture again underscores the importance of Cours d’Architecure as a major contribution to the shift in how architecture was thought of during the eighteenth century. Cours d’Architecture (together with other titles) contributed to that the classical orders and the their proportions in part were abandoned, in favour of a new focus on how architecture was organised with an emphasis on distribution.