Archinect - News

A 500-year-old unbuilt bridge design by Leonardo da Vinci holds up

2019-10-11T16:00:00-04:00

Researchers at MIT have proven Leonardo da Vinci correct yet again, this time involving his design for what would have been at the time a revolutionary bridge design. Although clients rejected da Vinci's work at the time, over 500 years later, the researchers have proven that his bridge would have worked.

Part of a proposal for Sultan Bayezid II of the Ottoman Empire, da Vinci's bridge was intended to connect what is now Istanbul to Galata, a neighboring city. The proposed design spanned about 918 feet and was of masonry construction, making use of the compressive characteristics of an arc geometry. The team had to investigate the available materials of the time and study da Vinci's sketches and letter to the Sultan. If the design was implemented at the time it would have revolutionized architecture, writes Popular Mechanics.

"Leonardo da Vinci’s original drawing of the bridge proposal, showing a plan view at top and a side view (elevation) below, including a sailboat passing under the bridge, along with drawings that students Bast and Michelle Xie produced to show how the structure could be divided up into 126 individual blocks fthat were 3D printed to build a scale model." Credit: Karly Bast and Michelle Xie (Courtesy of MIT)

A view into the World of Leonardo da Vinci

2019-08-09T15:00:00-04:00

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is proud to present "The World of da Vinci", featuring 2 rare folios of the authentic, 500-year-old Codex Atlanticus. This remarkable exhibition also features over three-dozen reconstructions of Leonardo da Vinci’s fantastic machines, including over a dozen that are built life-size including his Mechanical Lion, Mechanical Bat and Great Kite.

The World of da Vinci, an exhibit at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, celebrates the work of the renowned Renaissance-era polymath.

The exhibition is open to the public until September 8, 2019.

The Archisutra is an architect's manual to sex positions

2017-12-05T17:59:00-05:00

London-based architect Miguel Bolivar recently released his side project Archisutra, an architecture and design take on the Kama Sutra. This manual gives you all the data with annotated scale drawings and informative descriptions including categorizations of 'Typical Location' and 'Sustainability'. Each position is inspired by an iconic building and often incorporates the use of designer furniture.

Truss Me, in 'Archisutra' by Miguel Bolivar. Photo: The Archisutra/Facebook.

Archisustra's precise drawings were inspired by da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and Le Corbusier's standard model of the human form, The Modulor. Bolivar explains the project arose from questioning how sex should be considered in design, and furthering the idea that architecture should be centered around human life.

The Pompidou, 'Archisutra' by Miguel Bolivar. Photo: The Archisutra/Facebook.

Rejected Leonardo da Vinci design will finally come to life as world’s longest ice bridge

2016-01-06T13:32:00-05:00

In 1502, at the request of the Turkish sultan, Leonardo da Vinci came up with the design for a stone bridge that would cross the Golden Horn [...]. With a span of some 240 meters, it would have been the longest bridge in the world—if it had been built. Now, more than 500 years after the sultan rejected da Vinci’s design, a team of students and volunteers in the Finnish town of Juuka are in the process of constructing a scale model of the original drawing—out of ice.