Stereotomy, the science of cut solids, is a field of study that connects building technology to the history of Architecture.

Assistant professor of architecture Benjamin IbarraSevilla at the University of Minnesota College of Design digitally scanned the interior of three churches in the Mixteca region of southern Mexico: San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula and Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán y San Juan Bautista Coixtllahuaca, where Mixtecan masonry techniques and European geometry merged to create a unique style of ribbed vaults.

His goal was to understand the true origin of the discipline of stereotomy and the means of its transmission from Europe to America through the lens of Architecture. The rib vaults were documented in both analog and digital format and then studied using threedimensional modeling.

Read more on our blog: http://z.umn.edu/duo.