Re-appraisal of the Legacy of Abū al-Wafā Būzjānī in Art and Architecture

Document Type : Research/Original/Reqular Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Engineering, University of Ferdowsi, Mashhad

2 Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran

Abstract

Abū al-Wafā Būzjānī is one of the top mathematicians in Islamic period. His book on geometrical constructions has been the subject of many discussions and researchers in the fields of history of science, architecture and related crafts. Nevertheless, despite these researchers, its exact contribution to art and architecture has not been identified. The main purpose of this article is to clarify Abū al-Wafā’s heritage in the mathematics of architecture by relying on the historical analysis method (structural similarities). In this paper, after an overview of the formation of practical arithmetic and geometry during century 4 AH/10 AD, Abū al-wafā’s geometric methods and their practicality are compared with artisans and architects’ methods. The findings of the present research reveals that although Abū al-Wafā collected the basic rules of the use of geometry, and especially that of plane geometry, and presented different solutions for problems, his methods did little contribute to geometric designs of artisans and architects. Due to their simpler and more practical methods, the artisans and architects did not use a considerable portion of Būzjānī’s book. It seems that the main heritage of Abū al-Wafā in architecture is his discussion of the arithmetic of buildings. He formulated the preliminaries of practical arithmetic for secretaries, accountants, and financial overseers of buildings.

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