Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T08:28:37.874Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A shape grammar for the building-type definition of the ancient Greek and Roman library and the evaluation of library plans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2020

Myrsini Mamoli Open the ORCID record for Myrsini Mamoli [Opens in a new window]
Myrsini Mamoli*
Affiliation:
School of Architecture, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
*
Author for correspondence: Myrsini Mamoli, E-mail: myrsini@gatech.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper presents in detail a parametric shape grammar for the generation of ancient Greek and Roman library plans. Ancient Libraries showcase a significant variability of scale, monumentality, and design with the use of different architectural components, and researchers cannot identify them as easily as other building types. The grammar is in 2D and captures all the variability of libraries from the simpler forms of the Hellenistic period to the more monumental of the Roman period, creating a vast range of designs. The paper presents the grammar-generated plans of the known libraries based on the evidence in the archaeological record. A frequency analysis of the occurrence of the rules in the derivations ranks the different characteristics of libraries and the architectural forms with which they occur in the corpus, to determine the probability of specific rules and to interpret them as mandatory or optional. The contribution of this work is that the shape grammar summarizes the design principles of ancient libraries visually and helps establish the building type of the ancient library. The frequency analysis assists tremendously in the reconstruction of fragmentarily preserved ancient libraries by providing a system in the reconstruction of the missing parts, when ambiguity is involved.

Keywords

Ancient Greek librariesancient library plansfrequency analysisparametric shape grammarsRoman libraries
Type
Research Article
Information
AI EDAM , Volume 34 , Special Issue 2: Thematic Collection: Design Cognition and Computing , May 2020 , pp. 191 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cagnat, R (1909) Les bibliothéques municipales dans l'empire romain. MINF 38, 10–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Callmer, C (1944) Antike bibliotheken. OpA 3, 145–193.Google Scholar
Chippindale, C (1992) Grammars of archaeological design. In C Peebles and J-C Gardin (eds), A Generative and Geometrical Approach to the Form of Artifacts. Representations in Archaeology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp. 251–276.Google Scholar
Clarke, D (1968) Analytical Archaeology. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
de Gregori, F (1937) Bibliotheche dell’ Antichità. ABI 11, 9–24.Google Scholar
Doran, J and Hodson, F (1975) Mathematics and Computers in Archaeology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Dylla, K, Frischer, B, Müller, P, Ulmer, A and Haegler, S (2009) Rome Reborn 2.0: a case study of virtual city reconstruction using procedural modeling techniques. Proceedings of the 37th International Conference Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA), 22–26 March. Williamsburg, VA, USA, pp. 62–66.Google Scholar
Economou, A, Hong, K, Ligler, H and Park, J (2019) Shape machine: a primer in visual composition. In Lee J-H (ed.), Cultural DNA Workshop 2019: Computational Studies of the Cultural Variation and Heredity. Proceedings of the 3rd Cultural DNA Workshop, 25 June. KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, pp. 103–115.Google Scholar
Götze, B (1937) Antike bibliotheken. JDAI 52, 225–247.Google Scholar
Hodder, I (1982) Symbolic and Structural Archaeology, New Directions in Archaeology. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoepfner, W (2002) Antike Bibliotheken, Antike Welt. Mainz am Rhein: von Zabern.Google Scholar
Iacopi, I and Tedone, G (2005–2006) Bibliotheca e Porticus ad Apollinis. RM 112, 351–378.Google Scholar
Johnson, LL (1984) The Hellenistic and Roman Library: Studies Pertaining to Their Architectural Form (Thesis/dissertation). Classics, Brown University, Rhode Island.Google Scholar
Knight, T (1994) Transformations in Design: A Formal Approach to Stylistic Change and Innovation in the Visual Arts. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Langie, A (1908) Les Bibliotheques publiques dans l’ ancienne Rome et dans l’ Empire Romain. Fribourg, Suisse: University of Fribourg.Google Scholar
Lee, J, Gu, N and Ostwald, M (2016) Mathematical analysis and grammatical generation of design instances of Murcutt's domestic architecture. In Zuo J, Daniel L and Soebarto V (eds), Fifty Years Later: Revisiting the Role of Architectural Science in Design and Practice. 50th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia, December 7–9, 2016, pp. 169–178.Google Scholar
Makowiecka, E (1978) The origin and evolution of architectural form of Roman library In Studia Antiqua, Vol. 1. Warsaw: Wydaw-a UW, 108 p.Google Scholar
Mamoli, M (2014) Towards a Theory of Reconstructing Ancient Libraries (PhD dissertation). Georgia Institute of Technology, USA.Google Scholar
Mamoli, M (2015) Library grammar: a shape grammar for the reconstruction of fragmentary ancient Greek and Roman libraries. In Martens B. (ed), Real Time—Extending the Reach of Computation. Proceedings of the 33rd International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe, Vienna, pp. 463–470.Google Scholar
Mamoli, M (2019) Shape grammars as the decoder of cultural DNA of archaeological artifacts. In Lee J-H (ed.), Cultural DNA Workshop 2019: Computational Studies of the Cultural Variation and Heredity. Proceedings of the 3rd Cultural DNA Workshop, 25 June. KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, pp. 103–115.Google Scholar
Mamoli, M and Knight, T (2013) Reconstructing fragments: shape grammars and archaeological research. In Earl G, Tim Sly, Angeliki Chrysanthi, Patricia Murrieta-Flores, Constantinos Papadopoulos, Iza Romanowska and David Wheatley (eds), Archaeology in the Digital Era. e-Papers from the 40th Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology, 26–30 March. Southampton, UK, pp. 888–896.Google Scholar
Müller, P, Vereenooghe, T, Wonka, P, Paap, I and Van Gool, L (2006) Procedural 3D reconstruction of Puuc buildings in Xkipché. Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (VAST), 30 October–4 November. Nicosia, Cyprus, pp. 139–146.Google Scholar
Read, D (1982) Toward a theory of archaeological classification. In Whallon, R and Brown, JA (eds), Essays on Archaeological Typology. Evanston, IL: Center for American Archeology Press, pp. 56–92.Google Scholar
Read, D (1987) Archaeological theory and statistical methods: discordance, resolution, and new directions. In Aldenderfer, M (ed.), Quantitative Research in Archaeology. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, pp. 151–184.Google Scholar
Stiny, G (1980) Introduction to shape and shape grammars. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 7, 343–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stiny, G and Gips, J (1972) Shape grammars and the generative specification of painting and sculpture. Information Processing 7, 1460–1465.Google Scholar
Stiny, G and Mitchell, W (1978) The Palladian grammar. Environment and Planning B 5, 5–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strocka, VM (1981) Römische bibliotheken. Gymnasium 88, 298–329.Google Scholar
Strocka, VM (2000) Noch einmal zur Bibliothek von Pergamon. AA 1, 155–165.Google Scholar
Strocka, VM (2003) The Celsus Library in Ephesus. In Idil V (ed.), 24th Annual Conference Libraries and Education in the Networked Information Environment. Ankara: Middle East Technical University Library.Google Scholar
Wendel, C (1949) Die Bauliche Entwicklung der Antiken Bibliothek. ZB 63, 407–486.Google Scholar
Wilberg, W (1953) Das Gebaeude. Die Bibliothek, Forschungen in Ephesos (5), Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut Wien.Google Scholar