Chapters of an Endless Narrative
Terc Publisher, 2021, edited by Vilmos Katona

Text: Bálint Botzheim

The book titled Symmetry in Architecture has been published as a stop-gap publication. The current editor in chief, Vilmos Katona made a selection of articles from the volumes of the journal Symmetry: Culture and Science spanning more than 30 years. Symmetry was founded by György Darvas and Dénes Nagy, the first issue being published in 1990. It has evolved into an internationally well-known English-language periodical specialized in the multidisciplinary manifestation forms of symmetry with authors, among them several internationally acknowledged and renowned professors. researchers, even some awarded the Nobel Prize. The volume contains 22 articles grouped according to topics: tradition, theories, structures, town/city, credos. The studies help us reveal the semantic layers of the concept of symmetry. The fundamental statements of the introduction written by editor Vilmos Katona include the one saying that the concept of symmetry had already been used in connection with comparability, measurability and proportions back in the age of Euclid. Vitruvius used the term of symmetry as the harmony of proportions. Which in turn means that masters of the ancient period attached a meaning to this word different from our interpretation of symmetry in a wider sense. This book meets its uttered objectives: it is the very first book of its kind which summarizes the topic in Hungarian. Its topicality lies in the fact that it highlights a wide variety of approaches to symmetry, and thus has the potentials to shape and inflience the views of contemporary artists and creative professionals.