Ars gratia Artis or Ars gratia Pecuniae ?

Firmitas, Utilitas, Venustas 

Sometime around the first century, a Roman architect named of Vitruvius decided to write the first known treatise specifically on the subject of architecture.

In it, he defined architecture with the phrase "firmness, commodity and delight."   These words have become an oft-quoted classic definition that is as well-known to architects today as the words of Hippocrates are known to physicians.

Welcome to this blog which is devoted to the teaching of Real Estate Fundamentals for Architects -- a worthy enterprise of complementing the "delight" of design and the "firmness" of construction with the necessity of "commodity."

While it is true that Vitruvius' use of the word "commodity" connotes comfort and accommodation, it also means an article of trade or commerce.

And so, since its beginnings, the practice of architecture has required the ability to integrate the vision of the artist with the precision of the engineer and the acumen of the merchant.  These are not separate and isolated skills.  They are three corners of a triangle.