古代地中海文明圏におけるモデュールの技法について

ウィトルーウィウスの「建築十書」の記述とエジプトの建築関連資料にみられる設計技術の比較分析を中心に

抄録

 The architectural treatise “De Architectura”, written around 20 BC by Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, is known to be the best-preserved example of writings on architectural theory in the Ancient Mediterranean civilization. The core elements of the Vitruvian design theory, which were the proportional method of design known as the “module system”, and the analogy between architecture and human body, have influenced many architects and artists since the Renaissance Period, as seen in Leonardo Da Vinci's “Vitruvian man”, Albrecht Dürer's proportional studies, and Le Corbusier's concept of “modulor”.
 In contrast to the unequivocal significance of the Vitruvian treatise, the contents of his architectural theory has remained a subject of controversy. Due to the frequent usage of Greek words in Vitruvius' “De Architectura”, it is generally accepted that most of his ideas were derived from Greek writings. However, this only sets the terminus ante quem. Taking Ancient Egypt － where Greek philosophers, mathematicians, astronomers, historians and other intellectuals have studied － into consideration, and conducting a comparative analysis with the Hellenistic design method shines new light upon the possible origins of the concept of the module system, which hitherto has been considered a Greek invention, and would enable us to re-unite the scattered fragments of Ancient Mediterranean architectural history.
 Analyzing the Books III and IV of the Vitruvian treatise, a clear distinction between the module system of the Doric and Ionic style can be made. The Doric system uses a single module that defines all parts of a building. On the other hand, the Ionic system, which Vitruvius described as “the most sublime”, builds a chain of modules. It starts from a single module, as the in the Doric system, but some of the dimensions defined by the first module become the secondary modules and define further sets of dimensions. This process repeats until all parts of a building are exhausted.
 Concerning the technical drawings from Egypt, two examples of elevation drawings of an Egyptian shrine reveal the design method. A famous example, the so-called “Ghurob Shrine Papyrus”, shows the use of a grid as guidelines for drawing the front and the side elevations of the shrine. It is noteworthy that the width of the post and the thickness of the lintel are designed to have exactly one square of the grid. The rest of the parts are defined as simple unit fractions (1/n) or the value added or subtracted by them (1 ± 1/n). The second elevation drawing of a shrine is not drawn on a grid, but is drawn with notations of numbers and actual dimensions. The numbers are noted in demotic at each part of the shrine, again, the width of the post and the height of the lintel designated as “1”. In both examples, the Egyptian system implies the use of a single module system.
 Comparing the Egyptian and the Hellenistic module systems, the Doric system and Egyptian system used for shrines can be regarded as identical. The Ionic and other styles that evolved in the later period share the multi-modular system. The aim of such module systems was to adjust the appearance of the building, particularly the façade. Hence, it is natural that the use of the module concentrates on the elevation phase within the entire design process, and that it plays a less significant role in the prior phase of designing the plan and the overall size of the structure.