Feb 13, 2012 1:49 PM
The Parthenon is the most famous example of the mathematical concept of the Golden Mean, which expresses the relationship of two parts of a whole to each other and to the whole.
Mr. Webster defines proportion as “the relationship of one thing to another or one thing to the whole.”
In architecture today, the use of proportion as a design tool is all too scarce. It was not once so.
Even as recently as the late 20th century, proportion still meant something in architecture, where the relationship of seemingly disparate elements was reflected in every building element and form. Columns, windows and doors all held together by an invisible bond, and the massing and scale of building forms tended to rely upon one another.
Columns are notable offenders, as they are usually found to be too spindly for their height or too fat for the porch roof they are pretending to support. Windows, particularly those found in gabled ends, fall into the same trap of... more
In architecture today, the use of proportion as a design tool is all too scarce. It was not once so.
Even as recently as the late 20th century, proportion still meant something in architecture, where the relationship of seemingly disparate elements was reflected in every building element and form. Columns, windows and doors all held together by an invisible bond, and the massing and scale of building forms tended to rely upon one another.
Columns are notable offenders, as they are usually found to be too spindly for their height or too fat for the porch roof they are pretending to support. Windows, particularly those found in gabled ends, fall into the same trap of... more
