Decoding De re aedificatoria: Using Grammars to Trace Alberti's Influence on Portuguese Classical Architecture

Abstract

The research described in this paper is part of a project aimed at decoding Alberti's De re aedificatoria by inferring the corresponding shape grammar using the computational framework provided by description and shape grammars to determine the extent of such an influence in the Counter-Reformation period in Portugal. Here we concentrate on the theoretical foundations that enable the translation of Alberti's text into a shape grammar and then use it in determining its influence on Portuguese Renaissance architecture. © 2011 Kim Williams Books, Turin.