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António Rodrigues, a Portuguese Architect with a Scientific Inclination

In: Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future

Author

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  • João Pedro Xavier

    (Faculdade de Arquitectura, Universidade do Porto)

Abstract

António Rodrigues’s Onze Mil Virgens Chapel (ca. 1565) at Alcácer do Sal is a classic temple built as a mausoleum. Here we are able to discern the omnipresence of geometry, always in association with number. Although this temple is tied to a pre-existing one, it has a rigorous geometric plan based on the square, detected at different scales. An ad quadratum geometry is almost always present in the definition of the general proportions of the Chapel, as the side of the squared modular piers and pilasters and its diagonal are related with the measures of the whole. Other clearly discernable proportions are 5:4 and 7:6. The use of the 5:4 rectangle is related to the height of the celestial pole at Alcácer, evidence of Rodrigues’s “scientific inclination”. Further, the geometry is used to propose a hypothesis for a possible design of the main façade, one of the most puzzling aspects of this temple.

Suggested Citation

  • João Pedro Xavier, 2015. "António Rodrigues, a Portuguese Architect with a Scientific Inclination," Springer Books, in: Kim Williams & Michael J. Ostwald (ed.), Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 165-181, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-319-00143-2_11
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-00143-2_11
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