DESIGN BY NUMBERS: Architectural Order Among the Incas
A proposed new theory of the Inca architectural design process suggests that the Khipu (Quipu) was a major tool, used to create the elaborate Inca structures that survive to this day
Design By Numbers: Architectural Order Among the Incas
An investigation into the tools and methods available to and used by the Incas to design their architectural works and get them built without recourse to drawings or written numbers and instructions; proposes an entirely new theory of the Inca design process. Included is application of these new ideas to the design of the famous Great Hall at the Bolivian site of Inkallaqta, one of the largest and most elaborate surviving Inca structures in the Andes.
Also published in “Tawantinsuyu: An International Journal of Inka Studies,” Vol. 3, 1997, available through the Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National university, Canberra, Act 0200, Australia.
Take a look inside this publication
The Great Hall at Inkallaqta, Bolivia
Proportional layout of the Great Hall (cropped from full diagram in 'Design By Numbers: Architectural Order Among the Incas' by Vincent R. Lee)
Close up view of the Great Hall diagram
The Inca khipu, a basic recording and communication device possibly used during construction projects
Excerpt
The clear and ever-present order which was the Inca’s hallmark is given physical form in their monuments, and we may now have a better understanding of why and how this was achieved. By their reliance on simple, familiar and easily remembered proportional ratios, Inca architects could mentally visualize their designs and transmit the information necessary for their construction to builders with their numerical rather than pictorial instructions. The tools available for the task were uniquely suited to this “design by numbers” approach — a perfect marriage of means and ends.
Vincent R. Lee
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