Tempietto Inversum

Bramante’s original surrounding cortile might be understood as a topological inversion of the diminutive Tempietto—a corresponding radial form achieved by scaling the original and turning it inside-out.

“Tempietto Inversum” is a speculative geometric exploration based on the idea that this formal reading of inversion goes beyond a mere conceptual idea. The Tempietto and its intended (unbuilt) cortile are exact geometric transformations of one another, governed by a projective technique referred to as circular inversion. Expanding on the geometric relationship posited between the Tempietto and the unrealized cortile, “Tempietto Inversum” investigates other possible transformations of the original achieved via this projective technique.

The compound drawing is comprised of specific circular inversions of the original Tempietto plan printed on separate mylar sheets and overlaid on the red poche of Serlio’s cortile plan. The bottom layer shows the center of inversion (the point from which the projections radiate) at the center of the Tempietto, producing the surface of the cortile wall and peristyle found in Serlio’s plate (minus the squared poche). The exterior surface of the walls of the original Tempietto are mirrored across a “circular” axis to form the interior surface of the cortile walls, producing a typical bilaterally symmetrical peristyle but wrapped around in a circle (analogous to a cylindrical reflection in 3-space). 

The purity of the radial plan and absolute equivalence of the four sides of the Tempietto define an architectural object and centralized space which defy any reading or sense of frontality. The final transformation of our sequence yields a set of columns whose centers lie on a circle coincident with the original. However, the transformation forces the columns to systematically slide and diminish in diameter towards the altar—the newly defined “back” of the circular plan. Similarly, the swollen pair of columns on the opposite side (toward the bottom of the drawing) are spaced the farthest apart, thus framing a front and codified entry into the sacred space. Ultimately, the projective distortions result in qualitative differences which induce an axial and frontal bias in a non-directional radial type.

2018
Co-authored with Cameron Wu

Tempietto Exemplum

Exhibition at Yale Architecture Gallery