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Theories of Proportion

This document discusses seven theories of architectural proportion: 1) the Golden Section, 2) Classical Orders, 3) Renaissance theories involving Pythagoras' theory of means, 4) Le Corbusier's Modulor system, 5) the Ken theory for residential architecture, 6) Anthropometry measuring the human body, and 7) considerations of scale and visual perception. Classical Orders specify column shapes in Greek and Roman architecture. The Golden Section was used in Greek temples and the Parthenon exhibits its proportions.

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828 views7 pages

Theories of Proportion

This document discusses seven theories of architectural proportion: 1) the Golden Section, 2) Classical Orders, 3) Renaissance theories involving Pythagoras' theory of means, 4) Le Corbusier's Modulor system, 5) the Ken theory for residential architecture, 6) Anthropometry measuring the human body, and 7) considerations of scale and visual perception. Classical Orders specify column shapes in Greek and Roman architecture. The Golden Section was used in Greek temples and the Parthenon exhibits its proportions.

Uploaded by

ANGELIKA ORTEGA
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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REASEARCH WORK NO.

01

THEORIES OF PROPORTION

ARCH132

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1

SUBMITTED BY:

ANGELIKA C. ORTEGA BSARCH 1A

STUDENT

SUBMITTED TO:

AR. CLAUDETTE R. DE VEYRA, UAP

INSTRUCTOR
THEORIES OF PROPORTION

PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES OF THE WORLD, THEIR LEARNING OF THE TYPICAL SIZE


OF INDIVIDUALS, NATURE, LANDSCAPES, ANIMALS, AND SO ON, HAVE ALL CONTRIBUTED
TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSE OF SCALE THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY. WHEN
MEASURING THE SEPARATE SECTIONS OF A SPACE IN A BUILDING, WE USE THE HUMAN
BODY AS THE PRIMARY REFERENCE OF SCALE. THE UNDERLYING CONCEPTS AND THEIR
IMPORTANCE TO THE CREATOR REMAIN CONSTANT WHILE THE ACTUAL SYSTEM IS
CONTINUALLY CHANGING. AND FOR THIS REASON, A NUMBER OF THEORIES HAVE BEEN
ESTABLISHED OVER TIME.

THE SEVEN THEORIES OF PROPORTION AND THEIR CORRESPONDING DEFINITIONS


WITH SAMPLE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. GOLDEN SECTION

THE GOLDEN SECTION, ALSO KNOWN AS THE GOLDEN MEAN, IS AN


IRRATIONAL PROPORTION THAT WAS MOST LIKELY KNOWN TO THE ANCIENT
GREEKS AND WAS CONSIDERED TO BE DIVINE BY RENAISSANCE PHILOSOPHERS. IT
IS DESCRIBED AS A LINE DIVIDED IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THE SMALLER PORTION
IS TO THE GREATER PORTION AS THE GREATER PORTION IS TO THE ENTIRE, AS
SEEN BELOW:

1.0 1.618
AC : CB = CB : AB
A C B

PHI Φ IS THE RATIO OF THE TWO LENGTHS.


Φ = 5+ 12 = 1.61803…

FOR APPROXIMATE PURPOSES IT IS 1:1.6 OR 5:8.

THE GOLDEN SECTION WAS EMPLOYED IN ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE


TO DEFINE APPEALING DIMENSIONAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN A BUILDING'S WIDTH
AND HEIGHT, THE SIZE OF THE PORTICO, AND EVEN THE LOCATION OF THE
COLUMNS SUPPORTING THE STRUCTURE. THE OUTCOME IS A STRUCTURE THAT
APPEARS COMPLETELY PROPORTIONATE.

Φ IS THE LINE LENGTH RATIO IN ANY PENTAGRAM.


A GOLDEN RECTANGLE IS A
RECTANGLE WITH PROPORTIONED SIDES.
IT IS ONE IN WHICH Φ IS THE RATIO OF ONE
SIDE TO THE OTHER.

IF A SQUARE IS CONSTRUCTED IN ITS


BIGGER SIDE, THE RESULTING PORTION OF
THE ORIGINAL RECTANGLE WOULD BE A
BIGGER BUT SIMILAR GOLDEN
RECTANGLE.

THE GRAPHIC ANALYSIS SHOWN IN THE


LEFT IS THE PARTHENON, A TEMPLE BUILT
IN ABOUT 447-432 B.C., LOCATED IN
ATHENS, GREECE.

THE EXTERIOR DIMENSION OF THIS


STRUCTURE FORMS A PERFECT GOLDEN
RECTANGLE.

THE GOLDEN RECTANGLE IS INCLUDED


NOT ONLY IN THE OVERALL FAÇADE OF THE PARTHENON, BUT IT IS ALSO FOUND IN THE
ENTABLATURE, COLUMNS, FLOOR PLAN, & INTERIOR CHAMBER OF THE STRUCTURE.

2. CLASSICAL ORDERS
THE PROPORTIONS EMPLOYED IN THE COLUMNS OF GREEK TEMPLES ARE
KNOWN AS CLASSICAL ORDERS. THE ORDERS, WHICH SPECIFY THE SHAPE AND
ORNAMENTATION OF GREEK AND LATER ROMAN COLUMNS, ARE STILL FREQUENTLY
EMPLOYED IN ARCHITECTURE TODAY. IT IS INTENDED TO ENSURE THAT ALL PARTS
OF ANY BUILDING ARE PROPORTIONATE AND IN HARMONY WITH EACH OTHER.

BELOW ARE THE THREE MAJOR CLASSICAL ORDERS AND THEIR SAMPLE
ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE DORIC ORDER IS THE SIMPLEST AND
SHORTEST, WITH NO DECORATIVE FOOT, VERTICAL
FLUTING, AND A FLARED CAPITAL. IT IS
CHARACTERIZED BY A PLAIN, UNADORNED COLUMN
CAPITAL AND A COLUMN THAT RESTS DIRECTLY ON
THE STYLOBATE OF THE TEMPLE WITHOUT A BASE.
THE COLUMNS ARE FLUTED AND ARE OF STURDY, IF
NOT STOCKY, PROPORTIONS. (KHAN ACADEMY)

IONIC COLUMNS ARE TALLER AND THINNER,


WITH A DECORATIVE FOOT AND SCROLL-SHAPED
VOLUTES ON THE CAPITAL. THE IONIC ORDER IS
NOTABLE FOR ITS GRACEFUL PROPORTIONS, WHICH
PRODUCE A MORE SLENDER AND ELEGANT PROFILE
THAN THE DORIC ORDER. THE IONIC ORDER
INCORPORATES A RUNNING FRIEZE OF CONTINUOUS
SCULPTURAL RELIEF, AS OPPOSED TO THE DORIC
FRIEZE COMPOSED OF TRIGLYPHS AND METOPES.
(KHAN ACADEMY)

THE MOST COMPLEX ORDER IS THE CORINTHIAN


ORDER, WHICH IS TALL AND THIN AND FEATURES A
DECORATIVE FOOT, VOLUTES AND ACANTHUS LEAVES
ON THE CAPITAL. (KHAN ACADEMY)

3. RENNAISANCE THEORIES
THE APPLICATION OF
PYTHAGORAS' THEORY OF MEANS TO
INTERVALS OF THE GREEK MUSCIAL
SCALE RESULTED IN A SERIES OF
INTERLOCKING RATIOS, AS SHOWN ON
THE RIGHT.
IT WAS PYTHAGORAS WHO
FOUND OUT THAT THE CONCORDANT
MUSICAL INTERVALS WERE LINKED BY
SMALL INTEGER RATIOS. HE ADDED A
CONCLUSION WHICH STATES THAT THE
SIMPLE NUMERICAL PROGRESSION AND THEIR RATIOS WERE ENOUGH TO
REPRESENT THE GREEEK MUSIC SYSTEM CONSONANCES.

4. MODULOR

AS A SYSTEM OF
MEASUREMENTS, MODULOR IS
CAPABLE OF REGULATING LENGTHS,
VOLUMES, AND SURFACES AND
"MAINTAINING THE HUMAN SCALE
EVERYWHERE."

THE MODULOR: A HARMONIOUS


MEASURE TO THE HUMAN SCALE
UNIVERSALLY APPLICABLE TO
ARCHITECTURE AND MECHANICS: TO
ORDER “THE DIMENSIONS OF THAT
WHICH CONTAINS AND THAT WHICH IS
CONTAINED.” IS LE CORBUSIER’S OWN
PROPORTIONING SYSTEM WHICH WAS
DEVELOPED IN 1942.

HE BASED THE MODULOR ON BOTH


MATHEMATICS AND THE
PROPORTIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY.

5. KEN

THE KEN THEORY OF


PROPORTION IS A STANDARD AND
ABSOLUTE MEASUREMENT FOR
RESIDENTIAL ARCHITETURE,
WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY USED TO
DESIGNATE THE SPACE BETWEEN
TWO COLUMS THAT VARIED IN
SIZE.
6. ANTHROPOMETRY

ANTHROPOMETRY PERTAINS TO THE


MEASUREMENT OF THE SIZE AND THE
PROPORTIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY. THIS
PROPORTIONING METHOD AIMS TO MEASURE
FUNTIONAL RATIOS RATHER THAN SYMBOLIC
ONES.

THE HUMAN BODY’S DIMENSIONS AND


PROPORTIONS PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN
ARCHITECTURE SINCE IT AFFECTS THE
STRUCTURAL DIMENSION OF THINGS WE USE. AS
MENTIONED EARLIER, ANTHROPOMETRY SEEKS
TO IDENTIFY FUNCTIONAL MEASUREMENTS IN
RELATION TO THE SOCIAL CONDITION AND THE
TYPE OF THE ACTIVITY INVOLVED.

7. SCALE
SCALES PERTAIN TO HOW PEOLE OBSERVE OR JUDGE THE SIZE OF AN
OBJECT IN REGARD TO ANOTHER. IN SIMPLE WORDS, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
ACT OF COMPARING ONE THING TO SOMETHING ELSE.
A SCALE, IN TERMS OF DRAWING, IS USED TO DETERMINE THE RATIO
BETWEEN AN ILLUSTRATION AND ITS DEPICTED REAL OBJECT.

MECHANICAL SCALE REFERS


TO THE SIZE AND PROPORTION OF AN
OBJECT RELATIVE TO AN ACCEPTED
STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT.

VISUAL SCALE IS THE SIZE OR


PROPORTION AN ELEMENT APPEARS TO
HAVE IN RELATIVE TO OTHER ELEMENTS
OF KNOWN OR ASSUMED SIZE.

HUMAN SCALE IS PRIMARILY


BASED ON THE DIMENSIONS AND
PROPORTION OF THE HUMAN BODY.
ONLINE REFERENCES

FORM, SPACE, & ORDER BY FRANCIS D.K. CHING (2ND EDITION)

ARCHITECT’S POCKET BOOK FIFTH EDITION

https://drive.google.com/drive/search?q=golden%20section

3 CLASSICAL ORDERShttps://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-
art/beginners-guide-greece/a/greek-architectural-orders

LINKS OF PICTURES TAKEN ONLINE

IONIC https://www.idesign.wiki/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/3-9-285x300.jpg

DORIC https://www.idesign.wiki/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2-8-300x249.jpg

CONRINTHIAN https://buffaloah.com/a/DCTNRY/c/corinth_tower.jpg

MODULOR https://brickstogether.tumblr.com/post/41430256496/le-modulor-blue-and-red-series-le-
corbusier & https://iconeye.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/modulor-man-le-corbusier.jpg

ANTHROPOMETRY https://i.pinimg.com/564x/8e/4c/2e/8e4c2e187b6f0afce75c73b1b5295701.jpg

OTHER REFERENCES

https://www.house-design-coffee.com/classical-orders.html

https://www.slideshare.net/janicemaireneechiverri/02-theories-of-proportion

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