En la percepcin de la forma reside el inicio de la formacin de conceptos.

Arnheim (1998 [1986] 40)

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APROXIMACIN AL ANLISIS DEL SISTEMA DIDRICO ESPAOL COMO LENGUAJE

Vctor Grassa-Miranda, Roberto-Vicente Gimnez Morell

Introduccin
Frente a la pedagoga constructivista, el descrdito de la enseanza conductista se refiere a obviar los procesos mentales del estudiante en la tarea de construir su aprendizaje. La mecnica de restitucin espacial en el sistema didrico considera la posibilidad de recuperar la estructura tridimensional de la configuracin geomtrica representada. Tal proceso se ha tratado de aplicar igualmente para justificar la obtencin de la imagen mental correspondiente (Taibo 1966 [1944], 2). Esta investigacin pretende poner de manifiesto que la gramtica del sistema didrico espaol, heredera de la clsica geometra descriptiva crea unas expectativas formativas de difcil fundamentacin en torno al desarrollo y estructuracin del pensamiento espacial del estudiante. A lo largo de la historia la comunicacin grfica, ha desarrollado variantes e hbridos descriptivos en funcin de las necesidades prcticas de representacin. Durante el Renacimiento las representaciones tcnicas fueron utilizadas para describir objetivamente la forma tridimensional partiendo de la sntesis visual de su configuracin geomtrica (Fig. 1).

Concepto espacial
Teniendo en cuenta que la manifestacin de la representacin grfico-geomtrica no es sino expresin de la evolucin de un concepto espacial especfico asociado a un determinado contexto cientfico, el sustrato epistemolgico sobre el que se erige la clsica disciplina acadmica permite caracterizar el orden sintctico en que se apoya el modelo proyectivo como formulacin orientada a estructurar el pensamiento espacial del estudiante (Fig. 2). Proponemos dos hiptesis de partida con un claro componente dialctico en su enunciacin. En primer lugar se considera que el marco epistemolgico que sustenta la gramtica del sistema didrico espaol prioriza la representacin proposicional sobre la analgica (Ballesteros Jimnez, 1993) y, en consecuencia, establece determinadas mecnicas deductivas a partir de las variables lgicas de la operatividad proyectiva. Dicha doctrina es, en principio, ajena al proceso psicolgico de formacin de conceptos espaciales a travs de la construccin de imgenes mentales. En segundo lugar se considera que el direct method anglosajn supera los problemas del modelo pro-

Mientras la gramtica del sistema didrico espaol recurre a la formulacin del modelo proyectivo para estructurar el pensamiento espacial del estudiante, el direct method anglosajn se apoya en la reconstruccin de la imagen mental de la configuracin geomtrica. La superacin del marco epistemolgico que da origen a la clsica geometra descriptiva conduce a un progresivo abandono de la especulacin intelectual y su reorientacin hacia el diseo aplicado. El retraimiento cultural de la poca en el contexto espaol trae como consecuencia, en este caso, que la institucin educativa permanezca ajena al avance del conocimiento en la materia, lo que va a propiciar un cierto grado de academicismo que todava va a permanecer durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX.

Palabras clave: Visualizacin, Diseo tridimensional, Imagen mental, Representacin geomtrica.

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1. Estudio de una cabeza mediante varias vistas asociadas. Albrecht Drer.

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yectivo al plantear, desde el inicio, la asimilacin del concepto espacial favoreciendo la construccin de una imagen mental ntida del diseo tridimensional. En tal sentido el direct method se ocupa de potenciar la orientacin espacial del estudiante mediante la obtencin de vistas ortogrficas de sntesis perspectiva para apoyar la cognicin de las relaciones espaciales (Fig. 3). Para validar tales hiptesis indagamos en la metodologa operativa de la representacin grfico-geomtrica valorando cuatro bloques bibliogrficos en los que hemos clasificado el material existente. El primero de ellos identifica las publicaciones afines a la disciplina acadmica en el contexto espaol: Taibo (1966 [1944]), Izquierdo (1956) y Rodrguez de Abajo (1958) entre las de mayor difusin (Fig. 4).

En un segundo bloque consideramos las publicaciones renovadoras sobre didrico directo que, no obstante, siguen sin emanciparse del concepto espacial propio del modelo proyectivo. El principal representante de esta corriente es Snchez (1997 [1993]). En tercer lugar analizamos las traducciones al espaol del direct method que, con ms de tres dcadas de retraso, llegan al contexto espaol ofreciendo una versin descontextualizada respecto a sus fundamentos originales: Warner and Mcneary (1964 [1934]), Rowe and Mcfarland (1967 [1939]) y Wellman (1964 [1948]) entre los autores ms relevantes. Finalmente se contemplan las publicaciones originales del direct method, prcticamente sin presencia en las bibliotecas espaolas: Millar (1922 [1913]), Hood (1926), Warner and Mcneary (1934), Rowe and Mcfarland (1946 [1939]) y Wellman (1948), como autores fundadores de esta corriente alternativa (Fig. 5). El anlisis bibliogrfico de los bloques reseados se refiere, de manera particular, a la secuencia de contenidos y el equilibrio terico-prctico, sin obviar el inters que tienen las construcciones geomtricas como expresin de un concepto espacial aplicado. La adopcin del idioma original en algunos conceptos y citas, responde a la intencin de mantener la identidad tex-

tual del contenido y evitar la distorsin que la traduccin pudiera aadir. La versin completa del estudio forma parte de la tesis doctoral de GrassaMiranda (2008).

Anlisis vs sntesis
El filsofo y matemtico Ren Descartes (1596-1650), impulsor de la geometra analtica, ya haba considerado la posibilidad de reconstruir la realidad deductivamente a expensas de la experiencia. Su concepcin racionalista del mundo, tuvo una profunda influencia en el continente europeo con su epicentro en Francia. En consistencia con el razonamiento proposicional, el creador de la geometra descriptiva Gaspard Monge (1746-1818) se propone interpretar las relaciones espaciales en base a determinadas variables lgicas que surgen de la operatividad proyectiva (Booker, 2001 [1963], 25). La motivacin por extender la legitimidad de las operaciones de anlisis al terreno de la representacin grfica va a ser uno de los principios embrionarios de esta formulacin (Sakarovitch, 1998, 261) (Monge, 1996 [1803], 90) (Fig. 6). Como fundador de la cole Polytechnique, la posicin institucional y poltica de Monge justifica, en buena medida, el papel privilegiado de la geometra descriptiva para constituirse

2. Alfabeto del plano (Gutirrez Vzquez; Izquierdo Asensi; Navarro de Zuvillaga; Placencia Valero; 1984, p. 121). 3. Proceso de visualizacin/representacin de objetos tridimensionales (Bertoline, 1997, 241). 4. Lmina 2 de la gomtrie descriptive (Monge, 1996 [1803]).

5. Direct method. Vistas auxiliares. Giesecke (1979, 278).

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en una de las disciplinas acadmicas del modelo napolenico de formacin politcnica y su posterior difusin (Boyer, 1982 [1968], 598), contando adems con la enorme influencia que Francia ejerca en gran parte del continente europeo. La normativizacin que promueve el modelo proyectivo da lugar, durante la primera mitad del siglo XIX, a un proceso de reinterpretacin de tcnicas que determinar la codificacin de los sistemas de representacin:
Ya hemos mencionado la supresin en la cole Polytechnique de las perspectivas caballeras de las lminas de De la Rue. A pesar de que este sistema de representacin era genuinamente francs, no se le prest atencin en Francia hasta los escritos de Theodore Olivier. An menos habran de estudiar los primeros discpulos de Mon-

ge la axonometra ortogonal (). Por otra parte la perspectiva cnica era en la escuela de Monge mera aplicacin de la geometra descriptiva, ms para demostrar la capacidad operativa del mtodo de Monge que como reproduccin del viejo procedimiento de Alberti. De la Gourniere siente nostalgia de la riqueza de procedimientos grficos de los gremios y la variedad y matices en los modos de representar, cortada por la imposicin de una lengua normalizada. Su crtica se completa con la reivindicacin de un terreno propio para la perspectiva cnica y la caballera. (Monge, 1996 [1803], 91).

El estatus de sistema otorgado a los procedimientos perspectivos, tendr la contrapartida de someter la cognicin espacial a las variables lgicas de la operatividad proyectiva. En tal sentido, se trata de interpretar la es-

tructura del diseo tridimensional en base a las mecnicas deductivas de una organizacin racional independiente de la experiencia (Grassa-Miranda, 2009). Si el significado de la realidad se establece a expensas de las percepciones del sujeto, no se hace necesario verificar los conceptos mediante observacin emprica y, por tanto las imgenes mentales resultan intiles para asimilar las relaciones proyectivas. Esta situacin introduce, asimismo, una discontinuidad respecto al carcter analgico que haba acompaado a la representacin de formas desde el Renacimiento, y el espritu de observacin de la naturaleza yacente que haba dado preponderancia a la imagen visual (Fig. 7).

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El origen del direct method

Qu posibilidades existen para fundamentar la capacidad de estructurar el pensamiento espacial a travs del sistema didrico espaol? Hace aproximadamente un siglo, en la Annual Conference of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, el profesor French (1976, [1913], 22) expona las diferencias entre dos posibles modalidades de representacin grfico-geomtrica: The methods now in use, with all their variations, may be divided into two general classes:
1. Those which begin with the theory of the point, line and plane, and progress to the solid. 2. Those which begin with the solid, and afterwards take up the analysis of lines and surfaces.() In a subject which depends wholly on the clearness of perception, and whose value is entirely lost if the mental picture is confused, the possibility of this condition is most unfortunate.

Mientras la primera opcin, heredada de la formulacin proyectiva se ocupa de teorizar en torno a las abstracciones del punto, la recta y el plano, la segunda se inicia en la visualizacin del diseo tridimensional como

origen para interpretar su estructura geomtrica. Esta propuesta considera el papel fundamental de la imagen mental en la cognicin de las relaciones espaciales, aspecto que ser determinante para la gnesis posterior del direct method (Fig. 8). Adam V. Millar (1873-1960) se considera el primer autor en realizar una propuesta alternativa a la formulacin del modelo proyectivo (Gonzlez et al. 1977, 3), pero es George Jssen Hood (1877-1965) quien, pocos aos despus, realiza un amplio desarrollo de todas las consecuencias del direct method . Esta metodologa favorece la interaccin sujeto-objeto mediante la construccin de vistas ortogrficas de sntesis perspectiva con el fin de estimular la orientacin espacial del estudiante. Cada problema de diseo tridimensional dispone de un punto de vista estratgico desde el cual poder abordar su solucin. Por tal motivo el direct method se ocupa, desde un principio, de ejercitar al estudiante en el modo de obtener vistas auxiliares y construir una imagen mental ntida del diseo tridimensional (Fig. 9).

En este sentido, los desarrollos del direct method mantienen un alto grado de identidad entre representacin y visualizacin tal y como se haba entendido en la tradicin renacentista:
When the engineer draws or reads a view, he visualizes the views as representing the solid three dimensional object. It is a mistake to think that the object is projected on a plane, or regard the view as flat. (Hood 1946 [1926], 19)

El direct method propone tratar sin intermediarios con la configuracin espacial, lo que significar derogar el aparato deductivo-cartesiano de la geometra descriptiva clsica. En palabras de Hood el direct method trata con el objeto mismo y requiere de una actitud mental diferente (Hood et al. 1979 [1969], 445). Si la visualizacin perspectiva resulta un soporte cognitivo eficaz por qu no integrarla dentro de la representacin ortogrfica? La combinacin de diferentes vistas ortogrficas en perspectiva del diseo tridimensional constituye una de las caractersticas ms destacada del direct method cuyo fin especfico es facilitar la comprensin y el anlisis de la configuracin geomtrica (Fig. 10).

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Conclusin
El estatus de lenguaje que ostenta la gramtica del sistema didrico espaol como organizacin racional orientada a estructurar el pensamiento espacial del estudiante podra ser cuestionado en base a una insuficiente fundamentacin del proceso constructivo de la imagen mental de la configuracin geomtrica que propicia el desarrollo de una secuencia metodolgica alejada de la praxis. La corriente anglosajona del direct method soluciona este problema al plantear, desde el inicio de su secuencia didctica la asimilacin del concepto espacial favoreciendo la construccin de una imagen mental ntida del diseo tridimensional. La superacin del marco epistemolgico que da origen a la clsica geometra descriptiva conduce a un progresivo abandono de la especulacin intelectual, y su reorientacin hacia el diseo aplicado. Tal renovacin se desarrolla en base a una metodologa alternativa, consistente en obtener vistas ortogrficas de sntesis perspectiva como modo de potenciar la interaccin sujeto-objeto. Ajena al avance del conocimiento,en este caso, el retraimiento cultural de la institucin educativa espaola de la poca, va a propiciar el academicismo en una la disciplina que, fiel a los preceptos de la tradicin clsica, todava se prolongar durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX.

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6. Caricatura de Monge por uno de sus alumnos hacia 1802 (Sakarovitch, 1998, 246). 7. Estudio arquitectnico para La Adoracin de los Reyes Magos, Leonardo da Vinci. 8. Direct method. Dinmica para representar/visualizar (Hood 1946, 22).

9. Direct method. Representacin de un elemento a travs de diversas vistas auxiliares (Warner, 1934, p. 14). 10. Direct method. Vistas auxiliares diversas de una pirmide (Hood, 1946, 25).

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10

Referencias bibliogrficas
ARNHEIM, R. 1998 [1986]. El pensamiento visual. Paids, Barcelona. Visual Thinking, 1969. BALLESTEROS JIMNEZ, S. 1993, Representaciones analgicas en percepcin y memoria: imgenes, transformaciones mentales y representaciones estructurales. http://www.psicothema.com/pdf/858.pdf (octubre 2009) BERTOLINE G. R. ET AL. 1997, Technical Graphics Communication. En castellano: Dibujo en Ingeniera y Comunicacin Grfica. McGraw-Hill, Mxico. BOOKER, P. J. 2001 [1963]. Una Historia del Dibujo en Ingeniera. Centro Asociado de la UNED, Jan. A History of Engineering Drawing. Chattoo and Windus. Publicada posteriormente por Northgate Publishing, 1979. BOYER, C. B. 1982 [1968]. Historia de la matemtica. Alianza editorial. Madrid. A History of Mathematics. J Wiley & Sons, Inc. FRENCH, T. E. 1976 (1913). The educational side of engineering drawing, The Engineering Design Graphics Journal, 40 (3):32-35. GIESECKE, F. E. ET AL. 1979. Dibujo para ingeniera. Mxico, Interamericana. [1942] Technical drawing, including aeronautical drafting. The Macmillan Company. New York. GIMNEZ MORELL, R. V. 1988. Espacio, visin y representacin en el Dibujo y en la pintura del siglo XX. Servicio de Publicaciones Universidad Politcnica. Valencia. GONZLEZ GARCA, V. LPEZ POZA, R. Y NIETO OATE 1977. Sistemas de Representacin. Texgraf. Valladolid. GRASSA-MIRANDA, V. 2009. Cognicin espacial en la representacin grfico-geomtrica. Arquiteturarevista, v. 5 n 1. http://www.arquiteturarevista.unisinos.br/ GRASSA-MIRANDA, V. 2008. Lectura y evaluacin del espacio tridimensional en la representacin grfico-geomtrica. Tesis doctoral dirigida por Dr. Roberto Gimnez Morell. Universidad Politcnica de Valencia. 28 de octubre de 2008. GUTIRREZ VZQUEZ, NGEL; IZQUIERDO ASENSI, FERNANDO; NAVARRO DE ZUVILLAGA, JAVIER Y PLACENCIA VALERO, JOB. 1984, Dibujo tcnico. Editorial Anaya. Madrid HOOD, GEORGE J. 1946 [1926]. Geometry of engineering drawing: Descriptive Geometry by the Direct Method. McGraw-Hill, New York. HOOD, G. J.; A. S. PALMERLEE y CH. J. BAER, 1979 [1969]. Geometry of engineering drawing. Huntington, New York, Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company. IZQUIERDO ASENSI, F. 1956. Apuntes de Geometra Descriptiva. Patronato de Hurfanos de Oficiales del Ejrcito. Madrid. MILLAR, A. V.; EDWARD S. MACLIN. 1922 [1913]. Descriptive Geometry. New York [etc.] McGraw-Hill book company. La edicin manejada es de 1922. MONGE, G. 1996 [1803]. Geometra Descriptiva. Facsmil del original (1996). Madrid, Imprenta Real. Ed. Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Madrid. (Prembulo de Jos Mara Gentil Baldrich y Enrique Rabasa Daz). RODRGUEZ DE ABAJO, F. J. 1957. Dibujo geomtrico. Marfil. Alcoy. ROWE, CH. E. Y J. D. MCFARLAND. 1946 [1939]. Engineering Descriptive Geometry: The Direct Method for students. New York, Van Nostrand Company, El ejemplar manejado es una reimpresin de 1946. En castellano (1967) Geometra Descriptiva. Continental. Mxico. SAKAROVITCH, J. 1998, Epures darchitecture, de la coupe des pierres la Gomtrie Descriptive, XVI-XIX sicles, Basel, Birkhuser. SNCHEZ GALLEGO, J. A. 1997 [1993]. Geometra Descriptiva: sistemas de proyeccin cilndrica. UPC. Barcelona. La edicin manejada es de 1997 TAIBO, . 1966 [1944]. Geometra Descriptiva y sus aplicaciones. Tomo I, Editorial Tebar Flores, Madrid. La edicin manejada es de 1966 (2 edicin). WARNER, F. M. and MCNEARY, 1934. Applied Descriptive Geometry with Drafting-room problems. McGraw-Hill. New York London. WELLMAN, L. 1948. Technical Descriptive Geometry. McGrawHill. New York. En castellano Compendio de Geometra Descriptiva para tcnicos. Reverte. Mxico, 1964.

drawings of the National Library with those preserved at the Palace. 6 / Antonio PONZ, Viage de Espaa, VI tome, third edition, Viuda de Ibarra (facsimile edition, Madrid, 1972), pp. 89 to 91; to accommodate the scale model a box was fitted on the wall of the War Museum, which overlooks the Palace although it was later moved to the workshop under the arch, which communicates with the Garden of the Royal Pharmacy. Gaspar M. de JOVELLANOS also mentioned this scale model in his Elogio a Ventura Rodrguez ledo en la real Sociedad Econmica de Madrid, Viuda de Ibarra, Madrid, 1790. Both Pascual MADOZ, Madrid..., 1848, pp. 248 and 333, and ngel FERNNDEZ DE LOS ROS, Gua de Madrid...,

1876, p. 230, 484 and 485, recorded the same dimensions registered by Ponz, but Madoz says that the model was kept in the Topographical Cabinet located at the Buen Retiro and Fernndez de los Ros informs us of its removal to the Museum of Engineers. The new scale model was made for the exhibition about Philip V before mentioned. 7 / The comparative study of the different projects made for the new Royal Palace forms part of the graphic documentation gathered by Javier Ortega Vidal, Aitor Goitia Cruz, ngel Martnez Daz and Mara Jos Muoz de Pablo for the above mentioned exhibition El arte en la Corte de Felipe V. 8 / Gianfranco GRITELLA, Juvarra. LArquitectura, Modena, 1992, t. II, p. 439.

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ity and the municipal authorities, both in their daily activities as administrators and representatives of power and in public festivities and ceremonies. Nor were the surrounding establishments, the Tapestry Manufacture and the Snow Pits, suitable neighbours for a royal residence. In the second half of the eighteenth century, Antonio Carlos of Bourbon projected for these lands royal stables which did not come to be built. At the end of that century a Bleach Filtrations Factory was established there. This was also a royal manufacture, as much as the tapestry one. The two supposed locations, at both sides of San Bernardinos road, besides their good communication with the Royal Residences, would have maintained a prominent position over the Manzanares river and would have enjoyed the same panoramic views onto the Casa de Campo as they had enjoyed from the Alczar. Because of their being in raised grounds, they would have had also better views onto the town and to the north they would have enjoyed ample views onto the Sierra de Guadarrama. Even though, it seems more practical to have located the palace to the west of the promenade, between the road and the river where the advantages above mentioned are stressed. There, the smoother relief is to be found at the eastern margin of the promenade, in front of the Seminary of Noblemen and near the Bodyguards barracks. Any one of the places considered could have housed the new palace, but the two latter are the most likely according to the textual description: a place situated in San Bernardino Heights. Finally, we can situate Juvarras palace in a last place which also observes this requisite: in the axis of San Bernardinos road and a little further away from the enclosing wall, in the lands which formed the large estate of La Florida. This situation seems the most convenient because it joins together the advantages of the previous ones and gives room to the spreading out of the gardens looking onto the north and east proposed by Juvarra in his first outlines, as much as to the laying out of the square before the main faade. The axial composition of this square, the palace and the gardens would be strengthened by San Bernardinos promenade, thus avoiding the ambiguity of the accesses typical of the situation tangential to the road. The Palace would be the crowning element of one of the main streets in the city. All the sitings we have considered for the building would have changed the shape of Madrid and influenced its growth. In the nineteenth century, the urban grid jumped over the enclosing wall. The first centre of population to be settled in the outskirts of the city was the suburb of Chamber, a humble quarter situated to the north of the city between the gates of Fuencarral and Recoletos where Carlos Mara de Castro situated the working quarter in order to pre-

serve the existing houses and small factories when he drafted the Preliminary Plan for the Enlargement of Madrid in 1860. If Juvarras Palace had been built in any of the mentioned places, the growth of Madrid would have had other features. The nobility with their palaces and gardens and the institutional and administrative buildings would have occupied this area instead of the dunghills, shanty towns, cemeteries and humble dwellings which formed the suburb originally. The building up of the Palace would have altered the spatial distribution of the social classes and the location of institutions and services in the city. The urban grid and the typology of the buildings would also have been affected. 12. A hypothesis about the location of the Royal Palace designed by Juvarra for the town of Madrid about 1740, superimposed over the present urban grid, by M. J. Muoz de Pablo, 2008. When we superimpose the projected Palace and the town existent in the second third of the eighteenth century over the present urban grid, we can see how some of the roads which were later transformed into promenades and later on into the streets which structure the city, would have been erased by the palace complex. This also enables us to imagine a different city, where the structure of the streets would be subject to the laws imposed by the Palace, and the dimensions of the blocks and plots would be greater than the existing ones, a town designed to accommodate the representative buildings and the sumptuous houses of the aristocracy instead of the constructed town, destined to house the working quarters. San Bernardinos asylum, situated where is nowadays the rectory of the Complutense University, would not have been installed in the ancient convent of the same name, because it would have been razed to the ground by the works of the Palace. The Ciudad Universitaria would have had to find another place to be settled, because it would have been occupied by the gardens of the Palace. The present square of Moncloa and the way out of Madrid through La Corua road would have had a completely different shape However, the building of Juvarras Royal Palace in the Heights of San Bernardino, although possible, is only a dream; the actual development of the events followed another course which led to the present city. Nevertheless, the drawing up of different plans has helped us to learn about forgotten ideas from the past and to speculate about a different present, providing new images to the rich collection we already have about that slipped opportunity. These drawings show the most forgotten aspect of this subject: the plot of the Palace and its relationship with the city. Maybe the knowledge of the past facts and their would-be consequences will allow us to foresee more clearly a future which is always to come.

APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF THE SPANISH SISTEMA DIDRICO AS A LANGUAGE

by Vctor Grassa-Miranda Roberto-Vicente Gimnez Morell
The perception of shape is the beginning of conceptualisation. Arnheim (1998 [1986] 40)

Abstract The grammar or guiding principles of the Spanish sistema didrico use the projective schema of a model to help structure a students spatial thinking, while the Anglo-Saxon direct method relies on the reconstruction of a mental image of the geometric configuration. The epistemological framework that created classical descriptive geometry has been superseded and this has lead to a progressive abandonment of intellectual speculation and a reorientation towards applied design. Spains previous cultural isolation meant that educational institutions fell behind advances in the field of drawing and a degree of scholasticism took hold until the second half of the twentieth century. Keywords: visualisation, three-dimensional design, mental image, geometric drawing. Introduction From the viewpoint of constructivist teaching theory, the discredited behaviourist approach ignores the mental processes of students as they learn. The mechanics of restitution in the Spanish sistema didrico consider the possibility of recovering the threedimensional structure of the geometry represented. Such a process has also been applied to justify obtaining the corresponding mental image (Taibo 1966 [1944] 2). This paper aims to show that the grammar or guiding principles of the sistema didrico, inherited from classical descriptive geometry, create learning expectations that are difficult to anchor with respect to the development and structuring of a students spatial thinking. Throughout the history of graphic communication, various descriptive variations and hybrids have been developed according to practical drawing needs. During the Renaissance, drawing techniques were used to objectively describe three-dimensional shapes based on the visual synthesis of an objects geometry (Fig. 1). Spatial concept A graphic-geometric drawing is simply an expression of the evolution of a specific spatial concept associated with a given scientific context. The epistemological platform on which the classical academic dis-

expresin grfica arquitectnica

cipline stands enables us to characterize the syntactic order supporting the projective model as a design-oriented schema that aims to structure the spatial thinking of students (Fig. 2). We propose two hypotheses with a clear dialectical component. Firstly, it is considered that the epistemological framework that sustains the guiding principles of the Spanish sistema didrico prioritizes propositional representation over the analogue (Ballesteros Jimenez, 1993); and so establishes certain deductive mechanisms from the logical variables arising from the projective operatinality. This doctrine lies outside the psychological process of forming spatial concepts through the construction of mental images. Secondly, it is considered that the Anglo-Saxon direct method solves the problems of the projective model by considering, from the beginning, the assimilation of spatial concepts and so favouring the construction of a clear mental image of three-dimensional design. The direct method enhances the spatial orientation of the student by producing orthographic views with synthetic perspectives that facilitate an understanding of spatial relationships (Fig. 3). To validate these hypotheses we will explore the operational methodology of graphical-geometric drawing by dividing the existing bibliography into four sections. The first section includes the publications that discuss the academic discipline in Spain: Taibo (1966 [1944]), Izquierdo (1956), and Rodriguez de Abajo (1958) being among the most widely distributed (Fig. 4). In a second section, we consider publications about the sistema didrico that offer a revisionist view, but still remain tied to the spatial concept of the projective model. The main representative of this trend is Snchez (1997 [1993]). Thirdly, we analyze the Spanish translations of books about the direct method. These books were published in Spain after a delay of 30 years and offered a de-contextualised version of the original fundamental principles: Warner and McNeary (1964 [1934]), Rowe and McFarland (1967 [1939]) and Wellman (1964 [1948]) are among the most relevant authors. Finally, the original publications practically inexistent in Spanish libraries about the direct method are considered: Millar (1922 [1913]), Hood (1926), Warner and McNeary (1934), Rowe and McFarland (1946 [1939]) and Wellman (1948), were the founding authors of this alternative trend (Fig. 5). The literature review of these sections refers, in particular, to the content and the balance between theory and practice, without forgetting the perspective of geometric constructions as a manner of expressing applied spatial concepts. The full version is part of the doctoral thesis of Grass-Miranda (2008). Analysis versus synthesis The philosopher and mathematician Ren Descartes (1596-1650) pioneered analytical geometry and con-

sidered the possibility of reconstructing reality deductively from experience. His rationalist worldview had a profound influence on Europe and especially in France. Consistent with propositional reasoning, the founder of descriptive geometry, Gaspard Monge (1746-1818), sought to interpret spatial relationships based on certain logical variables arising from projective operationality(Booker, 2001 [1963] 25). The motivation to extend the legitimacy of such an analysis to the field of graphic drawing was one of the early embryonic stages of this schema (Sakarovitch, 1998, 261) (Monge, 1996 [1803], 90) (Fig. 6). Monge founded the cole Polytechnique and his institutional and political position helped explain the privileged role given to descriptive geometry as one of the academic disciplines of the Napoleonic model of technical university education. The spread of his ideas was further helped by the enormous influence that France exercised over much of Europe (Boyer, 1982 [1968], 598). During the first half of the nineteenth century, the standardization resulting from the projective model caused a reinterpretation of techniques for the description of drawing systems: We have already mentioned the removal from the cole Polytechnique of the gentlemanly perspectives produced by De la Rue. Although this system of representation was genuinely French, it was ignored in France until Theodore Olivier drew attention to the system in his writings. Even fewer have studied the early disciples of the axonometric orthogonal Monge (...). Moreover, in the school of Monge, conical perspective was a mere application of descriptive geometry and was intended as a demonstration of the operational capability of Monges method rather than as a reproduction of the old procedure of Alberti. De la Gourniere remarked on the imposition of a standardised graphic language and expressed nostalgia for the earlier wealth of graphical procedures produced by the guilds and the variety and nuances formerly found in graphic drawing. His critique includes a demand for a legitimate place for the conical and cavalier perspectives. (Monge, 1996 [1803], 91) The status of system given to perspective procedures meant submitting spatial cognition to the logical variables of projective operationality. The aim was to interpret the three-dimensional design using deductive mechanics in a rational organization that was independent of experience (Grass-Miranda, 2009). If reality is established at the expense of subjective perceptions, it is not necessary to verify the concepts by empirical observation, and therefore mental images are useless for assimilating projective relations. This introduces a discontinuity with regard to the analogue character that has accompanied drawing since the Renaissance, and the spirit of the observation of nature that gave prominence to the visual image (Fig. 7).

The origin of the direct method Is it possible to sustain the ability to structure spatial thinking using the Spanish sistema didrico? Nearly a century ago, Professor French at the Annual Conference of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education (1976, [1913], 22) outlined the differences between two forms of graphic-geometric drawing: The methods now in use, with all their variations, may be divided into two general classes: 1. Those which begin with the theory of the point, line and plane, and progress to the solid. 2. Those which begin with the solid, and afterwards take up the analysis of lines and surfaces () In a subject which depends wholly on the clearness of perception, and whose value is entirely lost if the mental picture is confused, the possibility of this condition is most unfortunate. The first option follows from the traditional projective schema and focuses on theorizing about the abstractions of point, line, and plane. The second option starts with the three-dimensional design visualization as a source for interpreting geometric structure. This proposal considers the fundamental role of mental imagery in the cognition of spatial relations, an aspect that was crucial in the subsequent development of the direct method (Fig. 8). Adam V. Millar (1873-1960) is considered the first author to make an alternative proposal to the projective model schema (Gonzalez et al. 1977, 3). A few years later George Jssen Hood (1877-1965) made a comprehensive presentation of the results of applying the direct method. This methodology favoured subjectobject interaction through the construction of synthetic orthographic perspectives in order to stimulate the spatial orientation of students. Each three-dimensional design problem has a strategic standpoint from which to approach the solution. This is why the direct method trains the student from the outset in techniques for producing auxiliary views and constructing a clear mental image of a three-dimensional design (Fig. 9). Developments of the direct method maintain closeness between drawing and visualization that was understood in the Renaissance tradition: When the engineer draws or reads a view, he visualizes the views as representing the solid three-dimensional object. It is a mistake to think that the object is projected on a plane, or regard the view as flat. (Hood 1946 [1926], 19). The direct method attempts to deal directly with the spatial configuration and this means repudiating the deductive Cartesian apparatus of classical descriptive geometry. In the words of Hood the direct method deals with the object itself and requires a different mental attitude (Hood et al. 1979 [1969], 445). If the viewing perspective is an effective cognitive sup-

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port then why not integrate the perspective with orthographic drawing? Combining different orthographic perspectives of three-dimensional design is one of the most prominent features of the direct method the aim being to facilitate an understanding and analysis of geometrical configuration (Fig. 10). Conclusion The status of the grammar and language that expresses the guiding principles of the Spanish sistema didrico as a rational organization aimed at structuring student spatial thinking can be challenged on the basis that it offers an insufficient foundation in the process of constructing a mental image of the geometrical configuration and this prompts the development of a methodological approach that is distant from accepted practice. Secondly, it is considered that the Anglo-Saxon direct method supersedes the problems of the projective model by considering, from the beginning, the assimilation of spatial concepts and so favours the construction of a clear mental image of three-dimensional design. Superseding the epistemological framework that created classic descriptive geometry leads to a progressive abandonment of intellectual speculation and a reorientation towards applied design. This renovation was based on an alternative methodology that sought synthetic orthographic perspectives as a manner of enhancing the interaction between subject and object. As Spain had culturally withdrawn from the modern world, the nations educational establishment remained isolated from these advances in knowledge. This isolation led to a scholasticism that remained loyal to the classical tradition until the second half of the twentieth century. REFERENCES
ARNHEIM, R. 1998 [1986]. El pensamiento visual. Paids, Barcelona. Visual Thinking, 1969. BALLESTEROS JIMNEZ, S. 1993, Representaciones analgicas en percepcin y memoria: imgenes, transformaciones mentales y representaciones estructurales. http://www.psicothema.com/pdf/858.pdf (October 2009) BERTOLINE G. R. ET AL. 1997, Technical Graphics Communication. In Spanish: Dibujo en Ingeniera y Comunicacin Grfica. McGraw-Hill, Mexico. BOOKER, P. J. 2001 [1963]. Una Historia del Dibujo en Ingeniera. Centro Asociado de la UNED, Jan. A History of Engineering Drawing. Chattoo and Windus. Later published by Northgate Publishing, 1979. BOYER, C. B. 1982 [1968]. Historia de la matemtica. Alianza editorial. Madrid. A History of Mathematics. J Wiley & Sons, Inc. FRENCH, T. E. 1976 (1913). The educational side of engineering drawing, The Engineering Design Graphics Journal, 40 (3):32-35. GIESECKE, F. E. ET AL. 1979. Dibujo para ingeniera. Mexico, Interamericana. [1942] Technical drawing, including aeronautical drafting. The Macmillan Company. New York. GIMNEZ MORELL, R. V. 1988. Espacio, visin y representacin en el Dibujo y en la pintura del siglo XX. Servicio de Publicaciones Universidad Politcnica. Valencia.

GONZLEZ GARCA, V. LPEZ POZA, R. Y NIETO OATE 1977. Sistemas de Representacin. Texgraf. Valladolid. GRASSA-MIRANDA, V. 2009. Cognicin espacial en la representacin grfico-geomtrica. Arquiteturarevista, v. 5 n 1. http://www.arquiteturarevista.unisinos.br/ GRASSA-MIRANDA, V. 2008. Lectura y evaluacin del espacio tridimensional en la representacin grfico-geomtrica. Doctoral thesis directed by Dr. Roberto Gimnez Morell. Universidad Politcnica de Valencia. 28 de octubre de 2008. GUTIRREZ VZQUEZ, NGEL; IZQUIERDO ASENSI, FERNANDO; NAVARRO DE ZUVILLAGA, JAVIER Y PLACENCIA VALERO, JOB. 1984, Dibujo tcnico. Editorial Anaya. Madrid HOOD, GEORGE J. 1946 [1926]. Geometry of Engineering Drawing: Descriptive Geometry by the Direct Method. McGrawHill, New York. HOOD, G. J.; A. S. PALMERLEE y CH. J. BAER, 1979 [1969]. Geometry of Engineering Drawing. Huntington, New York, Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company. IZQUIERDO ASENSI, F. 1956. Apuntes de Geometra Descriptiva. Patronato de Hurfanos de Oficiales del Ejrcito. Madrid. MILLAR, A. V.; EDWARD S. MACLIN. 1922 [1913]. Descriptive Geometry. New York [etc.] McGraw-Hill. 1922 edition. MONGE, G. 1996 [1803]. Geometra Descriptiva. Copy of original (1996). Madrid, Imprenta Real. Ed. Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Madrid. (Introduction by Jos Mara Gentil Baldrich and Enrique Rabasa Daz) RODRGUEZ DE ABAJO, F. J. 1957. Dibujo geomtrico. Marfil. Alcoy. ROWE, CH. E. Y J. D. MCFARLAND. 1946 [1939]. Engineering Descriptive Geometry: The Direct Method for Students. New York, Van Nostrand Company, 1946 reprint. In Spanish (1967) Geometra Descriptiva. Continental. Mexico. SAKAROVITCH, J. 1998, Epures darchitecture, de la coupe des pierres la Gomtrie Descriptive, XVI-XIX sicles, Basel, Birkhuser. SNCHEZ GALLEGO, J. A. 1997 [1993]. Geometra Descriptiva: sistemas de proyeccin cilndrica. UPC. Barcelona. 1997 edition. TAIBO, . 1966 [1944]. Geometra Descriptiva y sus aplicaciones. Tomo I, Editorial Tebar Flores, Madrid. 1966 edition (2nd edicin). WARNER, F. M. and MCNEARY, 1934. Applied Descriptive Geometry with Drafting-room Problems. McGraw-Hill. New York London. WELLMAN, L. 1948. Technical Descriptive Geometry. McGraw-Hill. New York. In Spanish. Compendio de Geometra Descriptiva para tcnicos. Reverte. Mexico, 1964.

ANCIENT MAPS FOR THE STUDY OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT: MAPS AND DRAWINGS FROM THE CIVIL DISPUTES IN SPAIN AND THE INDIES (II)
by Pilar Chas Navarro
Abstract The usual sources of information at a local scale of the American territories conquered by the Spanish Crown during the 16th and 17th centuries are the Relaciones Geogrficas, as well as the charts, the projects of fortifications or public works, and the maps drawn by the jesuites and the officials of the Crown. But there is another collection of maps that has a great importance because it provides essential data about the land properties or the land users rights. These were maps drawn for civil disputes concerning the ownership or rights to particular pieces of land, which were judged at the Royal Audiences and Chancelleries. These institutions of justice had been created in Spain in the 14th century, with similar purposes to those already existing in England, France and the Low Countries. They were also soon exported to the Indies with their own singularities. The article explores those singularities and their contributions to the history of the cartography and to the study of the evolution of the territorial frames, along four centuries. Such interesting cartographic materials still remain almost unknown. The collections are composed by more than a thousand manuscript maps from the 15th to the 19th century, which show the changing image of the Spanish and the Latinamerican territories. Introduction The searches that have focused on the Spanish territories at a local scale since the end of the 15th century, have used almost solely the usual sources of the Relaciones Topogrficas (Topographical Relations) for the Iberian peninsula, and the Relaciones Geogrficas (Geographical Relations) for the Indies. Both Relaciones were more or less extended sets of questions derived from an institutional initiative, that took place mainly between 1530 and 1812 at the Indies, and between 1575 and 1578 at the Iberian peninsula. They were usually proposed by the Casa de Contratacin in Seville, with the aim of gathering several information about the lands of the different provinces that then composed the vast Spanish Empire (Vilar 1970). But they also looked for reliable information in order to get the taxes. The collectons of cadastral maps and of those drawn for civil disputes are also essential cartographic sources that are focused on describing the land ownership, the land uses and the duties related to the territories.

FIGURES
Fig. 1. Study of a head using multiple views. Albrecht Drer. Fig. 2. Plane alphabet (Gutierrez Vazquez; Izquierdo Asensi; Zuvillaga Navarro; Placencia Valero, 1984, p.121). Fig. 3. Visualization and drawing process of three-dimensional objects (Bertolino, 1997, 241). Plate 2 from the Gomtrie Descriptive (Monge, 1996 [1803]). Fig. 5. Direct method. Auxiliary views by Giesecke (1979, 278). Fig. 6. Caricature of Monge drawn by one of his students in about 1802 (Sakarovitch, 1998, 246). Fig. 7. Architectural sketch for the Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci. Fig. 8. Direct method. The dynamics of representation and visualisation (Hood 1946, 22). Fig. 9. Direct method. Drawing of an element using various auxiliary views (Warner, 1934, p. 14). Fig. 10. Direct method. Various auxiliary views of a pyramid (Hood, 1946, 25).