http://www.slate.com/id/2210507/
Architecture, the pragmatic art of the possible, is always a compromise between the client’s demands; the exigencies of the site; the taste of the moment; and the constraints of budget, technology, and building regulations. Consequently, you might think that dogma would be the farthest thing from an architect’s mind. Not so. The history of architecture abounds in unbending pronouncements: “Form follows function,” “ornament is a crime,” “less is more,” “less is a bore,” and so on. These assertions are modern, but the doctrinal tradition is ancient. The first architectural treatise ever written, Vitruvius’ Roman handbook, is essentially a compilation of rules: This is the proper way to design a temple, a Doric column must have these proportions, and so on.
