Week 5 - Colin Rowe 'The mathematics of the Ideal Villa' & 'La Tourette'

In the 1947 text 'the Mathematics of The Ideal Villa' Rowe compares Palladio's and Le Corbusier's work particularly Villa Foscari and the Stein Villa at Garches. The essay offers little introduction to the text before jumping in with room dimensions, scales and layouts. This makes it a bit disorientating when first reading the essay and I had to do a fair but of other research just to understand what he was trying to explain. To look at these buildings they do not have much in common but Rowe argues that mathematically they are similar. He highlights areas like the Piano Noble on the first floor giving access through the terrace to the garden, the portico, steps and the general proportions of the building. He also talks about the Garches upper balcony and compares it to the prominent portico of the Villa Foscari.

Although he does touch on some differences its almost like he feels there is a supernatural power before th similarities rather than just being coincidence (or possibly imaginery). This supernatural power could be simply mathematics. Le Corbusier's Golden ratio of A : B = B : (A+B) and Palladios 3 : 4 to 2 : 3 both being mathematic ratio will show similarities. However it kind of feels he is grasping at straws and trying to explain a connection which may or may not be there. Maybe I just couldn't visualise what he was trying to say and so I was missing something but although I can see how buildings based around mathematic designs could be similar to me it kind of ends there.

When talking about La Tourette ( Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis) in the 1961 test 'Dominican Monastery of La Tourette', Rowe is, for me a slightly better read. I could visualise what he was trying to describe. La Tourette is a closed community for its users and Rowe breaks this down quite clearly. He also does quite a good job of describing the cold bleak approach and aesthetics of the building. Rowe seems to spend a lot of time describing what La Tourette looks like and how it feels compared to in 'The Mathematics of an Ideal Villa' where he seems to be trying to explain why they look like they do rather than what they look like. 

When talking about La Tourette, Rowe sets the stage, describes the scene and even introduces the characters. Its a much easier read than when he was writing about Palladio and Le Corbusier but it still feels a bit bitty. It still feels like he is writing perhaps so passionately that he is forgetting to write down the joints in his thoughts to help the reader make sense of what is in his head. However is it better to learn about a piece of architecture from somebody else experience or opinion of it or by analysing the facts and looking at the physical space?