Architecture and the naturalization of measurement, exactness and predictability

The cultural and technical shift that characterised 14th and 15th century europe is deeply intertwined with the origin of architectural design as an independent profession. Research works in architectural and art history have dealt with the naturalization of measurement in the representation of space, the expression of spatial ideas through sketches, which was made possible by the availability of relatively cheap paper, and the influence of mechanical printing on the way in which ideas and theories were edited and circulated along with illustrations. The essay explores how the codification of perspective drawings and notated design, among the many fields in which the tension between qualitative and quantifiable perceptions of the world unfolds, represented not only a radical shift in the way architecture was described, communicated and debated, but also the ground for professional debates in centuries to come.