Original research on Borromini's work, this book investigates the link between spatiality, linguistic guise and static conception.
[Borromini’s Domes and Vaults. The ‘Science’ of Construction in the Baroque Age] Original research on Borromini’s work, this book investigates the link between spatiality, linguistic guise and static conception. The first part defines the salient features of the Baroque science of construction: its particular view of nature; operational geometry and arithmetic; the materials and techniques of construction sites; and the major construction types. Then the principles of Borromini’s personal static science, his design methods and his rapport with Renaissance rationality are described. The second part of the volume contains detailed monographic essays on Borromini’s major domes. With the aid of new computer graphics the architect and client’s reasoning behind each work, and the planning and execution stages are examined, leading in many cases to completely new and surprising conclusions. The book is brought to a close by an analysis of the only constructional device invented by Borromini, his seven-chain system used to enchain the vaults of halls and naves.