Analysis of Leonardo da Vinci’s Architecture through Parametric Modeling: A Method for the Digital Reconstruction of the Centrally Planned Churches Depicted in Ms. B

Among many other themes, Leonardo da Vinci’s Manuscript B contains several drawings of centrally planned churches, some of which are represented using a plan view paired with a bird’s-eye view. The use of a bird’s-eye instead of an elevation represents an innovative depiction technique, which allows combining the immediacy of the perspective view with the measurability of the façades, and therefore to describe the three-dimensionality of the buildings. To understand the reasons behind the use of this original technique, the edifices’ shape and classify them, we decided to use 3D digital reconstruction techniques, for their ability to avoid misunderstandings in the reconstruction process and in the results. This article describes the method to create the digital models of sixteen churches. A Visual Programming Language (VPL) script was used as the 3D base for modelling the churches achieved from a classification code expressing the aggregative rules of the churches. Then, the geometric process for the construction of the plan and its relationship with the elevation measures were studied for each church. Finally, this information was used for the completion of the 3D models, distinguishing more output variants each time there was an inconsistency between plan and perspective view, a variability of one architectural element or an uncertainty.