Home Assignment; Scale and Proportion 08/12/2017

     The Greeks once stated that it makes the soul happy to work with clear mathematical ratios and therefore the tones produced by strings of simple proportions affect our ears with delight. Regardless of the Greek's reasoning, it was obvious that man possessed an intuition which made it possible for him to understand simple mathematical proportions as well as visual dimensions in the physical world.
     According to Rasmussen, Architecture employs simple dimensions and is metaphorically referred to as frozen music. 
One proportion that has attracted great attention throughout the years is the Golden Section. Le Corbusier based his work (Le Modulor) on this proportion which is most closely related to the ratio 5:8. The Golden Section is said to be better experienced in natural phenomena in which there is a rhythmic progression proportions such as small shells.
     Rasmussen has taken a comparison between Palladio's Villa and one of  Le Corbusier's houses as one of his main topics in this chapter regarding the above mentioned mathematical ratio. He states that Palladio's mission was to create Architecture just as sublime in composition and simple in proportions as antiquity. The way in which he has conducted the planning and building of his villa provides for the idea (proportion) to come through and be easily perceived by the viewer. 
     On the other hand, Le Corbusier's house thrives in just the opposite philosophy of portraying this common proportional rule. He has divided the house in the 5:8 ratio helped by the horizontal plane which is hidden so well that it makes it almost impossible for the viewer to make the connection.
Le Corbusier has taken this proportion even further with his bas-relief of a male figure which represents the essence of harmony.  He believes that "Le Modulor" satisfies both the beauty - because it is derived from the Golden Section - and functional demands. 
In his Marseille block, he hasn't used proportions according to human measurements but rather based on a gigantic scale where you can find something of the grandeur of Palladio's architecture.
     However with the Rococo period the small room concept came into its own, distancing its Architectural self from that of the classical Greek and later on the baroque. 
An example of how realistically the Architect could approach his problem, is Frederik's Hospital in Copenhagen by Nicolai Eigtved. What is special about it is that it's dimensions were determined by the basic element of a hospital ward: The Bed. 
     Lastly we can say that as Rasmussen believed, in a world in which mass-production is such a dominating factor, it is absolutely necessary to work out standards based on human proportions.



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