Ars et Ingenium: The Embodiment of Imagination in Francesco di Giorgio Martini’s Drawings The Embodiment of Imagination in Francesco di Giorgio Martini's Drawings

When did drawing become an integral part of architecture? Among several architects and artists who brought about this change during the Renaissance, Francesco di Giorgio Martini’s ideas on drawing recorded in his Trattati di architettura, ingegneria e arte militare (1475-1490) are significant. Francesco suggests that drawing is linked to the architect’s imagination and central in conveying images and ideas to others. Starting with the broader edges of Francesco’s written work and steadily penetrating into the fantastic world of his drawings, the book examines his singular formulation of the act of drawing and its significance in the context of the Renaissance. The book concludes with speculations on how Francesco’s work is relevant to us at the onset of another major shift in architecture caused by the proliferation of digital media.

Preamble, 1. Writing the Project of Architecture, 2. Drawing the Lines of Theory, 3. A Multifaceted Mirror, Drawing’s Different Faces, 4. Drawing as a Manifold, Ever-Shifting Spectacle, Coalescing Theory and Practice, Postscript

Pari Riahi is a part-time faculty member at Rhode Island School of Design, where she has been teaching since 2007 in multiple capacities in the Architecture and INTAR (interior architecture and adaptive reuse) departments. She has also taught at MIT and SUNY Buffalo. Pari completed her PhD dissertation at McGill University in 2010 in history and theory of architecture. Her thesis concerned the reciprocity of architectural drawings and imagination in the work of Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Pari’s current research tracks the propagation of digital media and the effect of new technologies on architectural thinking and practice.She is a registered architect, andfounded her architectural office in Massachusettsin 2011.