On Digital Architecture in Ten Books 01

Treatise on digital architecture

Hovestadt's treatise strictly follows the model of the famous treatises by Vitruvius (De architectura) and Alberti (De re aedificatoria), based on the supposition that we find ourselves in a comparable situation today. Vitruvius and Alberti expressed the meaning of architecture in their eras: Roman antiquity and the Renaissance. Hovestadt has done the same for the present day, incorporating considerations of physics, mathematics, technology, literature, and philosophy.

Books I to III deal with the role of the architect and the objectivity of architecture.

Books IV to VI address the modalities of speaking about and encoding architecture: the secret, the public, and the private.

Books VII to X are dedicated to actual digital mechanisms: artificial intelligence, natural communication, gnomonics, and cultural heritage.

• An architectural treatise for our age in 10 books
• Inspired by the works of Vitruvius and Alberti
• Published in three volumes in the Applied Virtuality Book Series

Ludger Hovestadt, professor of architecture and CAAD, ETH Zurich