The Conceptual Design of the Octagon at Thessaloniki
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The Conceptual Design of the Octagon at Thessaloniki Demetrius Savvides1
© Kim Williams Books, Turin 2020
Abstract Numerous theoretical designs based on the geometrical shape of ad quadratum, sequences of squares or/and octagons have been used to speculate for the existence of archetype patterns in architecture. However, up to now no archaeological evidence of the existence of any such pattern has been documented. The present work examines whether a diagram incised on stone found in the Octagon in Thessaloniki could be a first evidence of a conceptual design in architecture. Two statistically validated models are presented, one to explain the geometrical patterns on the Octagon diagram and another to describe the Octagon’s ground plan. The results are anticipated to contribute not only to the discussion concerning the function of the Octagon monument, but also to the debate concerning the role of type in architecture and the origin of form in central-plan and octagonal buildings. Keywords Octagon · Galerius palace · Geometrical analysis · Metrology · Conceptual design · Octagonal buildings · Central-plan buildings
Introduction The present study considers architectural conceptual design as that preliminary drawing which is based on simple geometric schemas or/and arithmetical proportions and can describe the fundamental lines of a monument’s ground plan or/and elevation plan (Jouven 1951). Despite the large number of archaeological findings that provide significant proof for the role of representational methods in building construction processes, such as designs of recognizable architectural motifs or parts of buildings and models of whole buildings or urban plans (Coulton 1975; Haselberger 1985; Hahn 2001), the existence of architectural conceptual
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s0000 4-020-00506-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Demetrius Savvides [email protected] 1
Independent Researcher, Thessaloniki, Greece Vol.:(0123456789)
D. Savvides
designs is documented only by indirect evidence. Ancient philological sources, ground-plan designs from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance as well as modern studies that examine typological similarities among various monuments provide indirect evidence of the significance of a supposed archetypal pattern. The aim of the present study is to examine whether a diagram found in the Galerian complex in Thessaloniki could be the first archaeological evidence of such a conceptual architectural design. The most famous evidence for the existence of archetype drawings that originates from philological sources includes fragments of Polykleitos’ book and two summaries of some of its principles in Galen that describe a geometrical/arithmetical canon-rule representing beauty in statues (Stewart and A.F.S. 1978). Richard Tobin (1975) suggested that this rule was associated with a pattern based on square roots of two. Another possible use of preliminary drawin
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