Design drawing and representation science in 16th to 17th C. architectural treatises

In architectural treatises, the design drawing exhibits specific interconnections with the representation science. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Italian architectural literature offered considerable scope for reflection relevant to the subject of this article. This paper aims to highlight the contributions to the representation science made by sixteenth and seventeenth century architectural treatises. To this end, a selection of printed treatises and images of design drawings is examined. The design drawings in sixteenth and seventeenth architectural treatises reflect the characteristics of contemporary figurative thought, highlighting connections to the artistic and geometric realms, where methods of graphic representation are scientifically defined. The contribution of these treatises to the representation science lies not only in the application of projective methods—some of which had not yet been scientifically formalized—but also in innovative representational solutions, driven by the need to convey models and examples to other designers and builders effectively.