Proportion and Scale

The Classical Orders

A style of classical architecture defined by the ancient Greeks and Romans, each distinguished by its proportions, characteristic profiles and details, and most readily recognizable by the type of column employed. Each style has its proper entablature, consisting of architrave, frieze and cornice. They are the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.



The Golden Section

In mathematics, arts, and archietcure two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one.




Renaissance Theories
•    Andrea Palldio’s Ideal Plan for Shapes of Rooms

In his Four Books of Architecture the ratios of width to length in Palladio's rooms are based on the harmonic proportions of 2:3, 3:4, 3:5, 1:2.  The numbers "6" and "10" were deemed to be "perfect" numbers because they reflect the proportions of the human body in several dimensions, including the ratio of front-to-back and side-to-side.


Modular 

Le Corbusier’s proportioning system,  based on the mathematics (the aesthetic dimensions of the golden section and the Fibonacci Series) and the functional proportions of human body. The basic grid has three measurements 113, 70, and 43 centimeters proportioned to the Golden Section.



Ken

A traditional Japanese measuring system used for building, it was  based on the tatami mats (modular floor mats) and the diameter of the column. Also ken, evolved into an aesthetic modular that determine structure, materials, and space in Japanese architecture.

Anthropomorphic

Measurement and study of the human body and its parts and capacities.






Scale

The ratio between the size of something and a representation of it; it interiors the human body affects the volume of the space where were require movement as well as visual scale and how we perceive a space.