This thesis analyzes the corporeal origin of theoretical works in XVI$ sp{ rm th}$ century French architecture. A comparison of Philibert de l'Orme's treatises and Francois Rabelais' work allows for a dynamic awareness of materiality to emerge. During the Renaissance, this awareness was based on analogical relationships and Hermetic texts. However, whether one looks at the theory of the Elements, the concept of Proportion, the microcosm-macrocosm interplay, or even the Cardinal Virtues, it appears that the references were always traced back to the everyday experience of the body. Confronted with the mechanistic and objectifying conceptualizations that dominate today, this thesis supports the crucial role the architect must play in the bringing forth of places that allow for a perception of the body closer to apprenticeship than to domination.

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