The Roots of Modern Bioarchitecture Found in da Vinci’s Codex Madrid II
Wood is a raw material for many creations, from artwork to buildings to bridges. It has been a trusted construction choice for centuries, but its natural vulnerabilities have often put wooden structures at risk. As a group of researchers at the UNESCO Club of Florence recently found out, Leonardo da Vinci was the first to examine wood and develop a rigorous scientific approach to addressing its vulnerabilities. These findings are systematized and presented in his Codex Madrid II, a unique artifact of da Vinci’s technical genius.
What Is Codex Madrid II?
Codex Madrid II is a comprehensive record of Leonardo da Vinci’s engineering inquiries. While the first volume of the Codex focuses on pure mechanics and the work of gears, the second part offers a more nuanced understanding of engineering processes. The manuscript has a rich and adventurous history of inheritance; it was first passed to da Vinci’s student, Francesco Melzi, and then to Pompeo Leoni and Juan de Espina.
The Codex finally landed in the Royal Library of Madrid, where it spent more than two centuries in oblivion, until Professor Jules Piccus discovered its glorious authorship in 1965. This discovery prompted active research into da Vinci’s writing, including the recent discovery of wood treatment techniques that have gained prominence in contemporary construction practices.
Da Vinci’s In-Depth Study of Wood Properties
The group of researchers at the UNESCO Club of Florence, including Annalisa Di Maria, Lucica Bianchi, and Andrea da Montefeltro, turned the global community’s attention to folio 87r, dedicated to wood treatment techniques. Leonardo da Vinci was concerned with making wood more durable and fire-resistant, which he proposed to achieve by removing the bark and carbonizing the surface. This technique, revolutionary for the Renaissance period, is scientifically sound, though the chemical reaction of pyrolysis wasn’t yet discovered in da Vinci’s time.
The Team of Experts
Though Leonardo da Vinci’s explanation is devoid of terms used to explain the process of controlled fire exposure in modern organic chemistry, it’s still perfectly logical and insightful. The first phase of wood processing is drying, which targets the evaporation of moisture and the endothermic reaction of heat absorption. The second phase is pre-pyrolysis, aimed at CO, CO2, acetic acid, and methanol emissions. The third phase presupposes rapid decomposition of cellulose and hemicellulose, accompanied by heat release. The final stage is complete carbonization, which forms a stable, hydrophobic carbon layer on the wood surface.
These processes increase the fire resistance of wood, making it suitable for construction. Interestingly, similar techniques are currently promoted in the new field of bioarchitecture, targeting low-carbon construction of housing.