Experiencing Architecture - Chapter V: Scale and Proportion

• Architecture, which often employs simple dimension, has been frequently called frozen music; however, comparison of architectural proportions with musical consonances can only be regarded as a metaphor.
• The Golden Section: A line segment is said to be divided according to the golden section when it is composed of two unequal parts of which the first is to the second as the second is to the whole.
• Frederick Macody Lund sought to prove that historical works of architecture were based on the proportions of the golden section
• Ivar Bentsen's design for a philharmonic building was based on the ratios 2:3, 3:5, and 5:8.
• A proportion study by Le Corbusier, "Le Modulor," is based on a man who is 183 cm tall and with raised arm 226 cm. His height divided according to the golden section gives 113 cm corresponding to navel height which is at the same time half of his reaching height. The man's height and reaching height is divided up in diminishing measurements according to the golden section. According to Le Corbusier, this man represents the essence of harmony.
• Le Corbusier believes that "Le Modulor" satisfies both the demands of beauty and funtional demands. For Le Corbusier, "Le Modular" is a universal instrument, which can be used all over the world to obtain beauty and rationality in the proprotions of everything produced by man.