The Modulor is a scale of proportions devised by the French architect Le Corbusier (1887–1965). The concept of scale is applicable if a system is represented proportionally by another system. ... Architectural practice has often used proportional systems to generate or constrain the forms considered suitable for inclusion in a building. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An Ciara Danille Bowers is a person who is involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, widely known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887– August 27, 1965), was a French Swiss born architect, famous for his contributions to what is now called modernism, or the International Style. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

History

Le Corbusier developed the Modulor in the long tradition of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, the work of Leone Battista Alberti, and other attempts to discover mathematical proportions in the human body and then to use that knowledge to improve both the appearance and function of architecture. The system is based on human measurements, the double unit, the Fibonacci numbers, and the golden ratio. Le Corbusier described it as a "range of harmonious measurements to suit the human scale, universally applicable to architecture and to mechanical things." Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born ca. ... Leonardo and Da Vinci redirect here. ... The Vitruvian Man is a famous drawing with accompanying notes by Leonardo da Vinci made around the year 1492 in one of his journals. ... Statue of Leon Battista Alberti. ... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... Illustration from The Speaking Portrait (Pearsons Magazine, Vol XI, January to June 1901) demonstrating the principles of Bertillons anthropometry. ... In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers form a sequence defined recursively by: In words: you start with 0 and 1, and then produce the next Fibonacci number by adding the two previous Fibonacci numbers. ... The golden section is a line segment sectioned into two according to the golden ratio. ...

Le Corbusier published Le Modulor in 1948, followed by Modulor 2 in 1955. These works were first published in English as The Modulor in 1954 and Modulor 2 (Let the User Speak Next) in 1958. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Le Corbusier used his Modulor scale in the design of many buildings, including Notre Dame du Haute and buildings in Chandigarh. In the construction of the first Unité d'Habitation apartment building, in Marseilles, a version was cast in concrete near the entrance. Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, widely known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887– August 27, 1965), was a French Swiss born architect, famous for his contributions to what is now called modernism, or the International Style. ... The Villa Savoye near Paris Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887–August 27, 1965) was the pseudonym of Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris. ... Chandigarh   (Punjabi: , Hindi: , pronunciation: ) also called The City Beautiful, is a city in India that serves as the capital of two states: Punjab and Haryana. ... Cranes are essential in large construction projects, such as this skyscraper In project architecture and civil engineering, construction is the building or assembly of any infrastructure on a site. ... Unite dHabitation, Marseille The Unité dHabitation (French, literally, Housing Unit) is the name of a modernist residential housing design principle developed by Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris), which formed the basis of numerous housing developments designed by Le Corbusier throughout Europe with this name. ... Marseilles redirects here. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Concrete is a construction material that consists, in its most common form, of Portland cement, construction aggregate (generally gravel and sand) and water. ...

Graphic representation

Facsimiles of Le Corbusier's books, each cover showing the sinuous shaded curves of the Modulor.

The graphic representation of the Modulor is a stylized human figure with one arm upraised stands next to two vertical measurements, the red series based on the figure's navel height (108cm in the original version, 1.13m in the revised version) then segmented according to Phi, and the blue series based on the figure's entire height, double the navel height (216cm in the original version, 2.26m in the revised), and likewise segmented. A spiral, graphically developed between the red and blue segments, seems to mimic the volume of the human figure. Image File history File links Modulor-Modulor2. ... Image File history File links Modulor-Modulor2. ... Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, widely known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887– August 27, 1965), was a French Swiss born architect, famous for his contributions to what is now called modernism, or the International Style. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which turns around some central point or axis, getting progressively closer to or farther from it, depending on which way you follow the curve. ...

Criticism

Critics of the Modulor have pointed out a number of concerns with the system. The height of the figure appears to be arbitrary and was perhaps chosen for mathematical convenience. The female body, in the words of reviewer Michael Ostwald, "was only belatedly considered and rejected as a source of proportional harmony".[1] The system bears no relationship to actual anthropometric observations. There is no self-evident method to transfer these measurements to the spaces humans are meant to inhabit; for instance, the Modulor cannot be used to derive comfortable tread length and riser height for stairs. Mathematics is commonly defined as the study of patterns of structure, change, and space; more informally, one might say it is the study of figures and numbers. Mathematical knowledge is constantly growing, through research and application, but mathematics itself is not usually considered a natural science. ... Illustration from The Speaking Portrait (Pearsons Magazine, Vol XI, January to June 1901) demonstrating the principles of Bertillons anthropometry. ... Spiral (double helix) stairway in the Vatican Museum Stairs, staircase, stairway, stairwell, and flight of stairs are all names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps. ...

Trivia

• A picture of the Modulor appears on the Swiss 10 CHF banknote.

A £20 Bank of England banknote. ...

See also

• Body proportions
• Rudolf Wittkower
• Vitruvian Man
• List of strange units of measurement
• Preferred number, especially the section about Renard series, which covers a mathematical approach on evenly distributed numbers using geometric sequences, for use in constructing houses or devices.

Vitruvian Man, by Leonardo da Vinci. ... Rudolf Wittkower was a German art historian. ... The Vitruvian Man is a famous drawing with accompanying notes by Leonardo da Vinci made around the year 1492 in one of his journals. ... Strange and whimsical units are sometimes used by scientists, especially physicists and mathematicians, and other technically-minded people such as engineers and programmers, as bits of dry humor combined with putative practical convenience. ... In industrial design, product developers must choose numerous lengths, distances, diameters, volumes, and other characteristic quantities. ... In mathematics, a geometric progression is a sequence of numbers such that the quotient of any two successive members of the sequence is a constant called the common ratio of the sequence. ...

External links

• Nexus Journal review by Michael Ostwald