Proportional Systems in the History of Architecture: A Conversation with James S. Ackerman. Issue 1 (20th June 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cohen, Matthew A.
• Is Part Of: Architectural histories. Volume 2:Issue 1(2014)
• Publication Date: 2014-06-20
• Subjects: Architecture -- History -- Periodicals; Architecture -- Historiography -- Periodicals; Architecture -- Research -- Periodicals; 720.9
• DOI: 10.5334/ah.bk
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-5833

Abstract

Abstract : In November 2010, James S. Ackerman, today the only living participant of the conference 'De divina proportione', which was held in Milan in 1951, sat for a video interview that was later shown at the conference 'Proportional Systems in the History of Architecture' in Leiden in 2011 to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Milan conference. In this interview, conducted by Matthew A. Cohen, Ackerman discusses how the study of proportional systems has changed over the past six decades, and thereby provides a unique link between the two conferences. The interview begins with Ackerman's experiences in northern Italy at the close of World War II, and a few years later at the Milan conference. It considers prevailing twentieth-century attitudes toward proportion up to the time of the conference, and compares them with prevailing medieval and Renaissance attitudes. Ackerman then shares his thoughts on the works and legacies of Rudolf Wittkower, Le Corbusier and Colin Rowe, before exploring the influences of architectural proportional theory on architectural design, and possible relationships between proportional systems and architectural beauty. After exploring changes in the uses of proportional systems that accompanied the rise of Abstract Expressionism, the arc of the interview concludes with Ackerman's thoughts about the future of proportional systems in light of the evolving role of the computer in architectural practice today.