Hi, I’m Doug Patt and this is 50 ways to design like an architect. Short videos with tips about how the architect does their job, this is part 3 proportion. Since the beginning of time, people have created systems of proportion. Vetruvius, a Roman architect among other things, wrote a—on architecture and in it analyzes the human body, its proportions and their relationships.
Leonardo da Vinci later put Vetruvius’ thoughts to paper. The Greeks and Romans use proportion to develop and define an architectural language in the classical orders. Another system of proportion that’s been understood for thousands of years and used in art and architecture since at least the renaissance is the golden rectangle; also called the Phi rectangle or rectangle of the whirly squares; the proportions are said to be defined because of its abundance to geometry, nature and even our bodies. From the Greeks to the renaissance to modern architecture today, the rectangle and derivative proportional relationships have and can be used in the planning of buildings, from the individual elements to their plans and elevations. It’s said that the golden ratio is so much a part of nature and the design of our bodies that it’s actually printed on our minds; and that’s why the proportions appeal to us. We’ll see you next time.