Scale is an important part of architecture, and something which must be both understood and considered in any design. Such considerations go far back into history, as do our understandings. The use of scale greatly informs the ergonomics of a design, being of an architectural nature or otherwise. After twenty years of researching, Le Corbusier created the Modulor Man, seen to the right. Modulor man is a symbol of proportion, a combination of maths, form and beauty. The proposed idea behind Modulor Man was to create a single system for designing in perfect scale, to create a universally ergonomic solution for all kinds of design. In theory the idea can be applied to buildings, furniture, accessories and more. William Wiles from Icon Eye says "what's really important is that the Modulor puts the human form back at the centre of design." [Wiles, W. 2008] |
Aside from the the desire of having everything in perfect proportion and scale, Le Corbusier also had another belief. He famously stated that "The house is a machine for living." Le Corbusier had a keen interest in mechanised design and efficiency. He believed that a house should be free from the structural parts of a house being visible. A car is primarily a machine for transport, and as such it is designed for that purpose at it's centre. Similarly, my understanding is that Le Corbusier's desire was for a house to be entirely aimed at providing a person with somewhere to live. There should be no other functions to distract from that.
http://www.fondationlecorbusier.fr/corbuweb/morpheus.aspx?sysId=13&IrisObjectId=7837&sysLanguage=en-en&itemPos=82&itemSort=en-en_sort_string1%20&itemCount=215&sysParentName=&sysParentId=65 - 26/10/2013
Wiles, W. (2008) Modulor Man. Available: http://www.iconeye.com/read-previous-issues/icon-065-%7C-november-2008/modulor-man. Last Accessed 26/10/2013.
http://www.archdaily.com/84524/ - 26/10/2013
Wiles, W. (2008) Modulor Man. Available: http://www.iconeye.com/read-previous-issues/icon-065-%7C-november-2008/modulor-man. Last Accessed 26/10/2013.
http://www.archdaily.com/84524/ - 26/10/2013