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A review on the literature backgrounds of the
A review on the literature backgrounds of the designs of Palladio and Sinan yields two observations. First, the architectural library is rich with research and publications on the works of Palladio and Sinan, each studied independently. Examples include the studies on Palladio׳s designs (Ackerman, 1967; Constant, 1993; Murray, 1971; Norwich, 1975) and the formal language of Palladio׳s palazzo façade language (Eilouti, 2008). Other examples include studies on Sinan׳s designs (e.g., Goodwin, 1993; Necipoglu, 2005; Özer, 1987; Rogers, 2006; Saoud, 2007).
The second observation is related to the suggestion of some architectural studies that indicated mutual influences between Islamic and Western architectures in the Renaissance Go 6983 cost on the basis of the frequent exchange in trade and travel (Howard, 2000). For instance, a few comparisons between Sinan and several Italian Renaissance architects and artists, such as Michelangelo and Alberti, have been made (Vasari, 1963). Several examples of these comparisons proposed the mutual influence of design principles between Italian and Ottoman architectures during the Renaissance period (De Osa, 1982; Howard, 2003; Kostof, 1995). These instances proposed the existence of several similarities between Western and Islamic architectural precedents based on visual analyses.
Research methodology
This study is based on the visual analysis of morphology and the basic mathematical comparisons of architectural designs. The overall structure of the analysis is illustrated in the flowchart shown in Figure 1.
As illustrated in Figure 1, the formal language of architectural compositions may be classified into three categories, that is, morphological, semantic, and pragmatic levels.
The case studies
Within the scope of this research, the case studies will be represented by the main floor plans of two buildings, that is, the Süleymaniye mosque by Sinan and the II Redentore church by Palladio. These buildings were selected based on the criteria explained in the “Introduction” section.
Morphology of the two precedents
Comparison and discussion
Conclusion
From the multiple commonalities of the precedents analyzed in this research, the distance between the two architectural languages is concluded to be closer than that im
plied by the initial external appearance. The geometric attributes of the classical style of the designs are similar, although the buildings vary in their geographic and cultural contexts. The similarities of both languages may be explained by the mutual exchange of trade and travel between Venice and Istanbul (Howard, 2000), which may have contributed to the transfer of visual images, and by using a similar regulatory planning grid and the nine-square grid as elaborated in the morphosyntactic analysis of this study. The semantic layer was also employed similarly in both cases. Both architects incorporated natural light to symbolize divine power, perfect symmetry to symbolize balance of the universe, vertical towers to imply a connection between earth and sky, monumental scale to signify grandeur, raised podium to connotate prestige, continuity of spaces to convey unity, and domes to symbolize heaven. The differences in the formal languages are either due to function or culture. An example of function is the ablution fountain in the mosque, which is not needed in the church. An example of culture is the pediment, which is more common in the Western architecture than that in the Eastern architecture.
Introduction
Streets are a representation of cities (Jacobs, 1961), and the image of cities is a reflection of its country of origin (Lynch, 1960). These ideas had been well expressed in the urban planning philosophy of Rome in the 1500s, which was marked by numerous developments initiated by various Popes (Grundmann and Fürst, 1998). Such developments were characterized by the demolition of haphazardly planned areas to bring forth a spatial axis of straight roads and bridges that physically and visually link one sacred place to another (Grundmann and Fürst, 1998). This approach to urban planning was conducted in a bid to restore the image of Rome from slow-paced development in the Middle Ages (Giedion, 1962).