Student Work
Title
The Nine-Square Grid: History, Exemplars, and Interrogation
Project Description
In his Six Memos for the Next Millennium, Italo Calvino defines exactitude as “(i) a well-defined and well-calculated plan for the work in question, (ii) an evocation of clear, incisive, memorable visual images,…(iii) a language as precise as possible both in choice of words and in expression of the subtleties of thought and imagination” (Calvino, page 55-56). I believe the study of the nine-square grid is an appropriate embodiment of the goals of this course because it represents a lucidity of intention and exactness of construction that transcends the divide between classicism and modernism via its repeated utilization throughout history. Beyond that, I would like to suggest that, in a way, the lineage of this simple grid’s implementation and interpretation is a microcosm of architectural history at large. I will examine nine examples of this plan organization in an attempt to formulate this argument.