Theorist
Vitruvius
Explore in the Atlas → Dwelling
Details
- Nationality
- Roman
Classifications
- Holder
- Individual
- Source of authority
- ReasonObservation
- Subject
- Human centred
- Political position
- Hegemonic
- Degree of codification
- Highly codified
- Mode of transmission
- Text drawing
- Knowledge type
- Propositional
- Epistemic cluster
- Western philosophical
Notes
[DRAFT] Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman architect and military engineer active under Julius Caesar and Augustus. His ten-book treatise De Architectura is the only major architectural text to survive from classical antiquity. Its triad of firmitas, utilitas and venustas (firmness, utility, delight) has anchored Western architectural theory for two millennia. Birth and death dates are approximate.
Connections
- proposed Firmitas, Utilitas, Venustas (the Vitruvian triad)
- authored De Architectura
- influenced Andrea Palladio
- influenced Leon Battista Alberti
- proposed Proportion (as architectural theory hub)
- influenced Sebastiano Serlio
- influenced Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
- influenced Claude Perrault
- influenced Marc-Antoine Laugier
- influenced Firmitas, Utilitas, Venustas (the Vitruvian triad)
Referenced by
- Proportion (as architectural theory hub) central to
Sources
- Vitruvius (Marcus Vitruvius Pollio). De Architectura (The Ten Books on Architecture). -25.
Cite this entry
First published May 2026Last revised Jul 2026
CLAD. "Vitruvius." Atlas of Architectural Thought. CLAD, 2026. https://www.cl-ad.com.au/research/atlas/theorist/vitruvius/. Accessed July 17, 2026.