1.

COLLEGE of ARCHITECTURE and PLANNING

Architecture 6390: The Art of Proportion.

Spring 2003.

Assistant Professor Taisto H. Makela. trnakela@carbon.cudenver.edu.

556-2565.

Locations:
Time:

Mondays 8:30 -11:15

"proportion:

"harmony:
"order:
"geometry:

320 A

...due relation of one thing to another or between parts of a things,

agreeable effect of apt arrangement of parts."
sequence,arrangement."
Scienceof properties & relations of magnitudes in space." OED.

Introduction
What is the role of proportion in design, particularly architecture? Where do the rules come
from and how are they to be used? What is the relationship between proportion and geometry?
Are proportions universal?
This seminar explores the basic design concept of 'proportion' as it relates to the history of
design and how it can be utilized today. Through structured exercisesin scansion, design in
general will be studied in terms of the application of proportional rules. Two specific
architectural paradigms are scrutinized: the classical and the modem. Students will explore
the classical proportional systems employed in the orders through a study of the Tuscan Order
by William Chambers of 1790. Students will also explore the Greek Doric through an inkwash. The modem is represented by the Modulor by Le Corbusier. What is it and how did he
use it to help design his buildings?
Based on these exercises,students will then develop a proportional system to further develop
one of their recent studio designs.

2.

Objectives
The objectives are broad: to acquire discipline in a traditional formal design language and
related syntactical strategies; to utilize the human body and its scale in design; to explore the
notions of narrative and ritual; to understand basic structural logic and architectonics; to
address the concepts of occupation and shelter; to develop basic graphic and presentation
skills; to appreciate architecture as an essential constituent and manifestation of cultural
values.

3.

Requirements
Students are required to fulfil all requirementsas described for each project. Attendance is
mandatory. Students also will be required to produce a digital portfolio of their work.

4.

Evaluation
The final grade is based on a comparison: with the work of other students ill the course; with
students who have previously taken the course; with the instructor's expectations relative to
the stated objectives of the course based upon his/her experience and expertise; and the clarity,
craft, and completeness of the work. Individual progress is also a consideration.

)
5.

Structure
The seminar will consist of lecture and discussion with student presentations.

6.

Bibliography

-REQUIRED:
Kimberly Elam, Geometryof Design (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001).
Richard Padovan, Proportion (New York: Spon, 1999).
SUGGESTED:
Robert Adam, Classical Architecture: A ComprehensiveHandbook to the Tradition of Classical
Style (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991).
Leon Battista Alberti, The Ten Booksof Architecture (1755) (New York: Dover, 1986).
Gyorgy Doczi, The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture
(Boston: Shambala, 1994).
Drury Blakeley Alexander, The Sourcesof Classicism(Austin, Texas: The Humanities Research
Center, 1978).
Hector d'Espouy, Fragmentsfrom Greekand Roman Architecture (New York: W.W. Norton &
Company, 1981).
Frank C. Brown, Frank A. Bourne, J.R. Coolidge, Study of the Orders,revised edition, (Chicago:
American Technical Society, 1948).
William Chambers, A Treatise on the Decorative Part of Civil Architecture (1791) (New York:
Benjamin Blom, 1968)
Robert Chitham, The Classical Orders of Architecture (New York: Rizzoli, 1985).
W.B. Dinsmoor, The Architecture of Ancient Greece(New York: 1975).
James Gibbs, Rulesfor Drawing the SeveralParts of Architecture (?)
"Evole des Beaux Arts," Architectural Record, 1901.
Leon Krier, Drawings 1967-1980(Bruxelles: Aux Archives d'Architecture Moderne, 1981).
Rober Lawlor, SacredGeometry: Philosophyand Practice (New York, Croosroad, 1982).
Henry McGoodwin, Architectural Shadesand Shadows (Washington, D.C.: AlA, 1990, 1904).

A.

John Onians, Bearersof Meaning: The Classical Orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance(Princeton New Jersey: Princeton University Press,1988).
Andrea Palladio, The Four Booksof Architecture (1570) (New York: Dover, 1965).
Sebastiano Serlio, The Five Booksof Architecture (1611) (New York: Dover, 1982).
Thomas Gordon Smith, ClassicalArchitecture: Rule and Invention (Layton, Utah: Gibbs M. Smith,
1988).
Arthur Stratton, Elementsof Fonn & Design in ClassicArchitecture (London: Studio Editions, 1987,
1925).
John Summerson, The ClassicalLanguageof Architecture (Cambridge Massachusetts: MIT, 1963).
William Wirt Turner, Fundamentals of Architectural Design (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1930).
Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre, ClassicalArchitecture: The Poeticsof Order(Cambridge,
Massachusetts: MIT,1986).
Vitruvius, The Ten Booksof Architecture (New York: Dover, 1960).

Exercises in Scansion.
"I do not know what meaning classical studies could have for our time if they were not untimely
--that is to say, acting counter to our time and thereby acting on our time and, let us hope, for
the benefit of a time to come."
Nietzsche, "On the uses and disadvantages of history for life," 1874.
"It is the Acropolis that made a rebel of me. One clear image will stand in my mind forever:
the Parthenon. Stark, stripped, economical, violent; a clamorous outcry against a landscape of
grace and terror. All strength and purity."
Le Corbusier, Fourth Meeting of the CIAM, 1933.

THE TUSCAN ORDER.

The Tuscan Order is the most basic of the Classical Orders. The Tuscan order embodies a rigorous logic
of composition that reveals itself through graphical analysis. Through such an analysis, the student
will acquire an understanding of an architectural language or system that still asserts its authority.
Contemporary architectural design is essentially meaningless without an appreciation of the mythical
backdrop of the Classical Orders. Even today many architects argue that to do architecture is to do
Classical Architecture.

Phase1:

Construct a graphic analysis of the Tuscan Order in graphite on trace after that
delineated by William Chambers in his A Treatiseon the Decorative Part of Civil
Architecture (1791) (photocopy). Your analysis should explore the logic of how this
particular Tuscan Order is constructed through geome~ and proportional
relationships. Becauseof the inherent distortion produced by multiple reproduction of
the image, set a scale and then construct the Order along the x and y axes. This will
provide you with more accuratemeasurements. Read pages 3-15 from Brown, Bourne,
and Coolidge (photocopy).

Phase2:

A.
Construct a Tuscan Order (including the complete shaft of the column) based on
that of Chambers in graphite on trace utilizing the proportional relationships
revealed in Phase 1. Use a compass or dividers to construct the Order in terms of
proportional relationships. If you have a convincing argument to change some of the
proportional relationships of Chambers, you may do so. The result will beyour own
order. Construction lines will be done in ink (use no more than two line weights) to
clearly show the logic of proportions and geometry used. Use graphite for the
remainder (choose your lead weight carefully). The width of the ball of your foot
equals Chambers's 60 minutes or 2 modules. Refer to pages 99-100and plate 34 of Robert
Chitham, The Classical Orders of Architecture (New York: Rizzoli, 1985) for the
diminution of the column.

B .Construct
and render a Tuscan Order (including the complete shaft of the
column) using ink on velum based on your graphite exercisein part A. Enlarge the scale
so that the width of the ball of your foot equals Chambers's 30 minutes or 1 module.
Carefully choose your line weights and limit them to no more than three. Include line
shading following the example of Chambers. Your rendering must be clearly explained
by clearly-visible graphite construction lines.

B.

THE DORIC ORDER & Ink-wash.

Workshop: Ink-wash techniquesand materials
Construct the Doric Order in pencil and render it with an ink wash. Use the Doric
Order as described on page 17 in Study of the Ordersby Brown, Bourne and Coolidge
(Chicago: American Technical Society, 1948). You may choose either the Denticular or
Mutular version. Also read pages 16-28(photocopy). Refer to Henry McGoodwin,
Architectural Shadesand Shadows(Washington, D.C.: AlA, 1909, 1990).
First do a gradation exercise consisting of 11/2" squares:
(I, 2, 4, 8, 16,32 drops acrossand I, 2, 4, 8, 16washes down)
Ink-wash materials list (Meininger's or?):
Permanent illdia illk (Pelikan).
One tube "RoseMadder" water colour (Windsor Newton).
#4 or #5 and #12 watercolour bullet-shaped brushes (come to a point).
Strathmore Gemini or Lanaquarrel or Arches 140pound cold-pressed paper
(about 22" x 30").
Lineco Neutral Ph. White Adhesive ($7.50) or Sobo glue ($3.29).
24" x 32" 3/4" solid core board (treat surface with satin-finish latex sealer)
Large sponge.
Paper towels.
6 small containers.

c.

Le MODULOR by Le CORBUSIER.
Replace Le Corbusier's 6'0" module for his Modulor with your own height. Modify both red and
blue scales accordingly.

This project gives us the opportunity to further explore the relationship of the Body and the Building
as well as exercise the knowledge of proportion, scale and measure gained in Section 1. Your
proportional system should have the potential to encompass all elements of the design at all scales.

NAAB Student

Performance

Criteria.

12.9
Use of Precedents
Ability to provide a coherentrationalefor the programmaticand formal precedents
employedin the
conceptualizationand developmentof architectureandurbandesignprojects
12.16 Fonnal OrderingSystems
Understandingof the fundamentalsof visual perceptionandthe principlesandsystemsof orderthat infonn two- and
three-dimensionaldesign,architecturalcomposition,andurbandesign

@Copyright by Taisto H. Makela2002. All rights reserved.