Architectural knowledge is carried through systems of measurement – those inherited, those rewritten and those eroded into fragment. This research traces how such systems unfold across time, moving from the ideal geometries imagined in early architectural writing to the uneven, weathered dimensions encountered in the ancient Roman city of Volubilis in Morocco. At Volubilis, the ruin becomes a lens through which to study how architecture survives not through intact forms but through the persistence of ratios, grids, alignments and misalignments. Columns no longer strictly proportional, axes slightly askew, and layers of Roman, early Christian and Islamic occupation create a site where multiple measurement systems coexist, overlap and contradict one another. These imperfections reveal that measure is not a fixed doctrine but a living residue – one shaped by use, climate, reconstruction and loss. Rather than treating ruins as static artefacts, the project studies them as active participants within a broader cultural and territorial continuum. They remain entangled with agriculture, settlement patterns and contemporary tourism; they continue to structure the landscape long after their walls fall. Volubilis offers a model of how ancient geometry persists in present life – not as nostalgic revival, but as a form of continuity forged through time. By analysing these layered systems of measure, the research seeks to understand how architectural knowledge travels across centuries, how it mutates and how it might still inform future forms of preservation and reintegration. The goal is not to reconstruct an ideal past, but to recognise in the ruin a quietly enduring architecture.

Pooneh is an architectural designer whose work bridges practice, teaching and research. She studied Art History at the University of California, Santa Cruz before pursuing architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles and completing Master’s degrees in Architecture and Urban Design at Arizona State University. Her professional experience includes working with firms such as Stéphane Maupin, PCA-Stream and Lina Ghotmeh Architecture. She now teaches and runs a research studio, with work ranging from site-based investigations to cultural, residential and installation-scale projects.