Scale and Proportion Flashcards by Kristel Artiaga

The proper or
harmonious
relation of one part
to another or to the
whole

PROPORTION

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In PROPORTION, Relationship may be of..?

magnitude,
quantity or degree

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usually has a range of choices
when determining the proportions of things,
some are given to us by the nature of
materials, by how building elements respond
to forces, and by how things are made

The designer

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Ratio of stress to strain for a certain material
Elasticity, hardness and durability
They all have an ultimate strength beyond
which they cannot extend themselves without
fracturing, breaking, or collapsing

Material proportion

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have rational
proportions that are
dictated by their
inherent strengths
and weaknesses

All materials

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Size of structural elements are directly related
to the task they perform

Structural proportion

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are called upon to
span spaces and
transmit their loads
through vertical
supports to the
foundation system
of a building

Structural elements

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form a skeletal structural
framework that defines modules of space.

Beams and columns

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articulate space and give it scale and a
hierarchical structure.

columns and
beams by their size and proportion

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Standard sizes imposed by manufacturers or
industry standards

Manufactured Proportion

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Many architectural elements are sized and
proportioned not only according to their
structural properties and function, but also by..?

the process through which they are
manufactured

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the standard sizes and proportions of factoryproduced elements affect the

size, proportion,
and spacing of other materials as well.

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The physical dimensions of architecture and of
proportion and scale is imprecise

PROPORTIONING SYSTEMS

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The transactional process by which we
experience the world

Perception and Design

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Perception and Design are distorted by

foreshortening of perspective
and distance and by cultural biases

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inherited from evolution,
culture and experience

Prejudices

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influence all our
perceptions

Our developing attitudes

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establishes a consistent set of visual
relationships between the parts of a building, as well as
between the parts and the whole

Proportioning system

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can be
sensed, accepted, or even recognized through a series of
repetitive experiences

visual order

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still has the ability to control the
proportion of the forms and spaces within and
around a building.

The designer

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go beyond the functional
and technical determinants of architectural form
and space to provide an aesthetic rationale for
their dimensions.

Proportioning systems

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can visually unify the multiplicity of elements in
an architectural design by having all of its parts belong
to the same family of proportions.

Proportioning systems

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They can provide a sense of order in, and heighten the
continuity of, a sequence of spaces.

Proportioning systems

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They can establish relationships between the exterior
and interior elements of a building.

Proportioning systems

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The ratio of the smaller to the larger is the same as the ratio of the larger to the whole

Golden Section

* Greeks recognized the dominating role the Golden Section played in the proportions of the human body. * Renaissance architects also explored the Golden Section in their work.

Golden Section

Le Corbusier based his Modulor system on the

Golden Section

Another progression that closely approximates the Golden Section in whole numbers is the

Fibonacci Series: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 . . . .

* The basic unit of dimension was the diameter of the column * All the parts of any one building were proportionate and n harmony with one another

Classic Orders

6 diameters

TUSCAN ORDER

7 diameters

DORIC ORDER

8 - 1/3 diameters but 2 and 1/4 D Entablature and 1/2 D Capital

IONIC ORDER

8 1/3 diameters but 2 and 1/2 D Entablature and 7/6 D Capital

CORINTHIAN/COMPOSITE ORDER

1 ½ d

Pycnostyle

2 d

Systyle

2 ¼ d

* Eustyle

3 d

Diastyle

4 d

Araeostyle

Architecture was mathematics translated into spatial units

Renaissance Theories

Seven ideal plan shape for rooms

– 1:√2 – 2:3 – 3:4 – 3:5 – 1:2

Height of room would be in proper proportion with its width and length

Renaissance Theories

*The height of rooms with flat ceilings would be equal to their width. * The height of square rooms with vaulted ceilings would be onethird greater than their width.

Renaissance Theories

Beauty will result from the form and correspondence of the whole, with respect to the several parts, of the parts with regard to each other, and of these again to the whole; that a structure may appear an entire and complete body, wherein each member agrees with the other and all necessary to compose what you intend to form According to? and what theory?

Andrea Palladio, Renaissance Theories

“the dimensions of that which contains and that which is contained”

Le Corbusier

Based his measuring tool on both mathematics and the proportions of a human body

Modulor

(Modulor) Basic grid consist of

113, 70, 43 cm proportioned according to the golden section 43+70=113 113+70=183 113+70+43=226(2x113)

the traditional Japanese unit of measure

Shaku

Almost equivalent to the English foot and divisible into decimal units

Shaku

originally used simply to designate the interval between two columns and varied in size

Shaku

“Absolute measurement”

ken

Two methods of designing with the ken modular grid developed that affected its dimension.

Inaka-ma and Kyo-ma

In ken, the size of your room depends on what?

the number of floor mats

was originally proportioned to accommodate two persons sitting or one person sleeping

Japanese traditional floor mats

In a typical Japanese residence, what orders the structure as well as the additive, space-to-space sequence of rooms.

the ken

refers to the measurement of the size and proportions of the human body

Anthropometry

its proportioning methods does not seek abstract or symbolic ratios, but functional ones.

Anthropometry

The applied science that coordinates the design of devices, systems, and environments with our physiological and psychological capacities and requirements

Ergonomics

affect the volume of space we require for movement, activity, and rest.

The dimension of the human body

What is the fit between space and the human body when we sit in a chair, lean against a railing, or nestle within an alcove space

static fit

What is the fit between space and the human body when we as when we enter a building’s foyer, walk up a stairway, or move through the rooms and halls of a building.

Dynamic fit

Third type of fit

How a space accommodates our need to maintain appropriate social distances and to have control over our personal space.

refers to how we perceive or judge the size of something in relation to something else.

Scale

Refers not to the actual dimensions of things, but rather to how small or large something appears to be in relation to its normal size or to the size of other things in its context.

Visual scale

mean that thing appears to be smaller than its usual size.

Small-scale or miniature

perceived as being larger than what is normal or expected

Large scale

we refer to the size of a project in the context of a city

Urban scale

we judge a building appropriate to its locale within a city

Neighborhood scale

we note the relative sizes of elements fronting a roadway

Street scale

the size or proportion of something relative to an accepted standard of measurement.

Mechanical scale

the size or proportion an element appears to have relative to other elements of known or assumed size.

Visual scale

Based on the dimensions and proportions of the human body

Human scale

makes us feel small in comparison

Monumental scale

describes an environment in which we feel comfortable, in control, or important

Intimate scale

Of a room’s three dimensions, what has a greater effect on its scale than the other dimensions?

height

In addition to the vertical dimension of a space, other factors that affect its scale are:

– the shape, color, and pattern of its bounding surfaces – the shape and disposition of its openings – the nature and scale of the elements placed within it