Redesigning an Italian Lake Chapel with Existing Proportions

Abstract

This research aims to derive the geometric proportion in the ruins of San Giovanni, an octagonal Renaissance chapel in Val Di Lago of Italy. It is a part of the revitalization competition project organized by Re-Use Italy in 2021. Vitruvius's methods that were later clearly used by Williams in relevant research are used for this research. Additionally, the method used by Balmer relating to finding the proportion system is also considered for this research. Eventually, findings from both analyses are compared, including relevant literature review, to derive the height of the roof of the remaining ruins of the octagonal Chapel, which is also a requirement for this competition. Literature reviews include the site's significance and orientation to the proportion system from the related research. From the findings, geometric proportions like 2:3 and 1:3 are used more dominantly throughout the analysis. The analysis is done from the drawings, including plans, elevation, and sections provided by the organizer. From the outcome of the investigation, any design layout can be generated which could be used for the design part of this competition project. Moreover, future relevant research can be carried out following this method to identify the existing ruins' proportion system.