I remember a story about the dome on the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower (the Duomo in Florence) -- the first and largest unsupported dome in the world in over a thousand years, built before the discovery of the Americas and on a structure that had been otherwise completed for over 130 years at the time (and which had taken 100 years to get there). In the telling, the architect, Filippo Brunelleschi was hired to solve the "how to build the dome" left by his predecessor, Arnolfo di Cambio in around 1300. Cambia had specified something that was basically science fiction at the time, a majestic dome, built without buttresses, using technology nobody knew how to create. A design competition in the mid-1300s reinforced the Florentine's desire for this incredible dome that nobody knew how to build.

The problem? The fucking Pantheon in Rome. It existed, and at that time built over a thousand years prior. It demonstrated that it was possible to build domes and that the technology had been lost to humanity. Artists and architects worth their salt all spent time in Rome learning architecture and design from the ancient ruins, by then nearly a thousand years old.

Brunelleschi, and his best friend Donatello, were no different, having visit Rome sometime in the early 1400s to study. Rome at the time was a decrepit, dangerous, insecure, place to go. However, based on what he learned, Brunalleschi developed concepts of architecture, light, balance, and other ideas, which garnered him commissions back in Florence. Based on his work and excellent delivery, the Medici (THE Medici family) hired him to build various things including the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. Which, if you've been there, feels like a frustrated first draft of the Duomo. The Basilica of Santo Spirito is the second draft.

Along the way he started working with vaults, then domes (very important!)

There was a competition, Brunalleschi's friend, Donatello, provided an absolutely incredible scaled demo of Brunalleschi's concept, and he won the competition against rival Ghiberti.

Once he won the commission, he set to work figuring out how to actually do it at scale. The "dome within a dome" architectural idea he inherited from prior work (technological debt!), but set out to create several new management and construction innovations which included:

- a maturing of the "dome within a dome" concept

- new hoisting machines

- new designs which eliminated legacy concepts such as flying buttresses and strengthened traditional bricklaying concepts

- entirely new management concepts:

1. Workers stay up in the construction site, going up and down hundreds of stairs was a waste of time (e.g. context shifting).

2. Resources, such as food and wine were to be brought to the workers in-place to save time and improve productivity.

3. The wine was to be diluted with water, similar to the quality of wine brought to pregnant women, this prevented drunkenness, as well as water-borne illnesses, which made the workers more productive.

The dome, the lantern on top, and the four surround mini-dome took from 1420-1445 (with the dome completed in 1436). Remember, this was to build something had been lost, science fiction, technology of the ancients, merely a hundred years prior.

Lessons for today:

1. Study what's come before

2. Honor your predecessors, but invent anyway

3. Focus on worker productivity, don't waste their time with context switching and perks that provide "nutrition-free" benefits.

Other observations:

1. Humans had identified alcohol as both a way to make water safer to drink, and a problem for pregnant women. Fetal alcohol syndrome had been observed and a reduced intake of alcohol had been identified as a way to reduce the problem.

2. It was possible to negotiate worker relations in such a way that they didn't hate, offered them benefits, and improved productivity.

3. Everybody competes, killer demos and prior work win future work.