Stereotomy

This is technically the art of cutting solids into shapes. For instance, when a stonecutter takes a large block and cuts it into an arch.

But there are some other, subtle uses –

One is what’s also called “descriptive geometry,” which is the art of describing three-dimensional shapes on a two-dimensional medium.

In a larger sense, it seems to refer to structural engineering as a general concept.

Why I Looked It Up

I stumbled onto a Facebook ad promoting a guy who achieved his professional certificate in stereotomy from The Professional School of Practical Stereotomy.

However, I think they’re being loose with the term, because his project was a wooden trestle. As I looked into the school, it seemed to hedge a little on the term, and indicate that it was larger than the traditional definition:

The Professional School of Practical Stereotomy is a small private professional school, unique in the English speaking world, where students are given experience in the application of the historic, time-tested techniques of practical stereotomy – L’Art du Trait. Stereotomy employs working drawings to design and construct structures both simple and complex. It is an empirically based method that has been used for millennia in the design and construction of European cathedrals, fortresses, castles, including historically classified UNESCO world heritage monuments such as the Chartres Cathedral.