2012/02/24
58 notes

uno-sole-minor:

A plan-relief is a scale model of a landscape and buildings produced for military usage, made to visualise building projects on fortifications or campaigns surrounding fortified locations.

The first examples seem to have been used by the Venetian Republic and more generally by the Italian city states of the Renaissance era. The wood turner Jakob Sandtner (fl. 1561-1579) produced plans-relief of many Bavarian towns, whilst in France Louis XIV’s war minister Louvois initiated a collection of plans-relief of French strongholds on a 1:600 scale in 1688. This collection included 144 examples according to Vauban’s 1697 inventory of it and was put on show at the palais des Tuileries. Vauban’s successors expanded the collection as and when operational necessity demanded, right up until 1870, when they were rendered obsolete by advances in the power of artillery.

An exhibition was set at The Grand Palais in Paris from the 18th january to 17th february. “La France en Relief”

(via booksnbuildings)

Tags: Architecture Reconstruction Image Scandal France