Decoding De re aedificatoria: Using Grammars to Trace Alberti's Influence on Portuguese Classical

The research described in this paper is part of a project aimed at decoding Alberti's De re aedificatoria by inferring the corresponding shape grammar using the computational framework provided by description and shape grammars to determine the extent of such an influence in the Counter-Reformation period in Portugal. Here we concentrate on the theoretical foundations that enable the translation of Alberti's text into a shape grammar and then use it in determining its influence on Portuguese Renaissance architecture. This research project aims to understand the cultural impact of Alberti's De re aedificatoria by using an intelligent computational environment in order to grasp the full implications of that treatise for the architectural practice of classical architecture in Portugal and its overseas territories. In fact, an underlying influence of Alberti's theories is felt in classical architecture in Portugal, but no one has been able to determine the extent of such an influence. The idea is to translate the treatise into a description grammar (Stiny 1981) and a shape grammar (Stiny and Gips 1972) and then trace the influence of Alberti's work by determining the extent to which this grammar can account for the generation of Portuguese classical buildings. This approach follows the "transformations in design" framework proposed by Knight (1983), according to which the transformation of one style into another can be explained by changes in the grammar underlying the first style into the grammar of the second. Grammars are thus proposed as a complementary tool to be used by architectural historians to test hypotheses raised by documentary evidence. In the course of the project, the developed grammars will be implemented as computer programs, and the output digital models will be used to produce drawings, rapid prototyping models and virtual reality models. These elements will form part of an exhibition to be mounted at the end to describe and celebrate Alberti's work and its influence on Portuguese architecture. State of the art