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Essay / The role of proportions and geometry in architecture
Geometry, along with music, arithmetic and astronomy, constituted the Quadrivium, the four quantitative areas of learning in the ancient Greek world and advocated in the Middle Ages as essential for the education of all human beings. Although the educated person had usually learned to master a musical instrument, it was the mathematical and proportional aspect of music that was considered most important. It could be said that the importance of proportions and geometry in architecture and in life is a phenomenon visible in nature and also applied to a range of disciplines. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The ancient Greeks were one of the first to apply these concepts. Greek temple design was based on strict rules of proportion governing all parts of the structure. Roman architecture also shared many simple features with Greek architecture, including the portico, use of orders and podiums, but it tended to be more ornate and elaborate overall. The main ambition of the ancient Greeks using the orders was to discover eternally valid rules of form and proportion, to erect buildings on a human scale while being adapted to the divinity of their gods, and finally to create architecture classically ideal. Doric temples were a primarily artificial construction rather than a form based on functionality. They represented a dazzling presence of right angles and sharp geometries. They stood out in the landscape and constituted monuments of vital abstraction. Orders in architecture are a specific assembly of parts subject to already established uniform proportions. Over time, during the ancient Greek period, orders underwent major adjustments and changes, as well as which were the most fashionable or the most out of fashion. The Hellenistic temple of Apollo at Didyma is a place where there have been many changes, notably with the Ionic order which had already developed greatly during the 3rd and 4th centuries. A rejuvenation of proportions made the Ionic column taller, thinner and the bays wider, influenced by the architects Hermogenes of Albaanda and Pythios of Priene. At Didyma, the exterior columns, 20 meters high, almost 10 times their lower diameter, are the tallest and thinnest of any Greek temple. However, it was the decorative possibilities that made the Ionic order so popular, not its proportions. The stricter and more fixed Doric order was less adaptable, meaning that it ultimately lost popularity after its proportions were reduced, in an attempt to make it more modernized. The contrast between the natural and the designed is at the heart of Greek religious architecture. It announces both the separation of human achievements from the dark forces of the earth and the appeasement of these divinely controlled forces through the act of construction. One of the first mathematical teachings in the form of a movement was Pythagoreanism in the 6th century BC, for Pythagorean number. was not only the first principle of heaven, but it showed its power. In Egyptian and Greek methods of geometric composition circulated the idea that there was a divine relationship between numbers and the human form. The Tetraktys was a triangular figure used as a geometric representation of the fourth triangular number. He was very important to Pythagoreanism and influenced planetary movements. The Pythagorean theoremstates that in a right triangle, the sum of the squares of two sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. When an architect designs a square building or structure, he can divide the square into two triangles and if he knows the length of two sides, the third side can easily be calculated. Using the Pythagorean Theorem can make an architect's life easier when determining unknown lengths and shows how mathematics and geometry are used.important in the world of designIn terms of individuals, Vitruvius is the most important man best known for his discussions of perfect proportions in architecture as well as the human body. He stated 3 conditions for a good building: its usefulness, its solidity and its beauty. Proportion plays a role in all three because it provides guidelines for arranging useful spaces, designing structural systems, and creating an aesthetically pleasing environment. Through this we can learn how the aspect of relationships and distances between spaces creates the basis of all structures. The proportions of a space can dramatically change the way people feel about it, and the proportions of a facade's design can influence whether a building appears welcoming, imposing, or simply neither. the other. The golden ratio was used in ancient Greek architecture to determine aesthetic relationships between width. of a building and its height in relation to its dimensions. This would also include things like the size of the portico and even the position of the columns supporting the main structure. The end result is a building that looks completely proportionate. The Second Temple of Hera at Paestum in Italy is a good example of how the golden ratio is applied. Swiss architect Le Corbusier is a person famous for centering his design philosophy on systems of harmony and proportion as well as the golden ratio. His confidence in the mathematical order of the universe was closely linked to the Fibonacci series and the golden ratio. He describes them as “rhythms apparent to the eye and clear in their relationships to one another.” And these rhythms are at the very basis of human activities. They resonate in man with an organic fatality, the same beautiful fatality that causes children, old people, savages and scholars to trace the golden ratio. » The golden ratio was specifically used in his system for the scale of architectural proportions. The system was seen as a continuation of the principles of Vitruvius, the work of Leon Battista Alberti and many others who used the proportions of the human body to improve the appearance and function of architecture. He took the concept of the golden ratio in human proportions to the extreme by dividing the height of his human body model into different subdivided sections along many parts of the body. According to these principles, buildings should be reduced to dimensions that humans can relate to so that they are more appreciated, this theory that we can relate to things within our reach is largely true because distant things seem to us generally less important. It also provides insight into our relationships with each other, and the universe as a scale can dramatically change the way we perceive things. It was believed that all buildings should be developed from a standard module, meaning that the dimensions should be proportional to said defined module. This rigid structure would allow almost any building to have a sense of uniformity and would make determining dimensions much easier for architects. For some, this could be a factorlimiting in terms of design restriction, but it is widely accepted that proportion is required in buildings for them to be beautiful. In 15th-century Florence, during the Italian Renaissance period, a change in attitude saw people become more open to new ideas. The current work maintained a relationship with the forms and rules of Antiquity to the extent that they were reused and reinvented when necessary. Mathematical perspective was at a point where it was necessary to represent things in space with visual precision and therefore allowed for an ideal level of proportion that generates beauty. Italy had great influence over the rest of Europe during this period. The main principles of the Renaissance were symmetry, proportionality, balance of parts, all these things constituted the basis of construction and contributed to the innate quality of architecture, this is what we knew Alberti as “beauty”. Beauty and ornament are considered the two main elements which cause aesthetic pleasure, the first being natural because it lies in the proportions due to "the harmony and concord of all parts in such a way that nothing can be added or subtracted or modified except for the worst.” The arts revival saw a boom in Italian architects and designers referencing ancient Roman and Greek texts, inscriptions and works of art. At this time, a form of mathematical humanism contributed to this. The increase in research in optics and geometry made linear perspective the main inspirational force of this period. Brunelleschi's use of these studies led him to substitute Gothic design, which at the time operated according to an abstract system of proportions. They were applied only loosely, with individual elements of the building having no fixed relationships in themselves or in relation to the overall measurements. Many details were also improvised or modified on site during the construction process. These gothic clothes were finally abandoned. Raphaël Bramante and Leonardo da Vinci continued the work of Alberti and Brunelleschi and aimed to stabilize their research by moving towards an abstract ideal perfection. They preferred buildings with a central composition, uniform squares, city forms with immaculate geometry, and facades strictly balanced on either side. This shows how proportions and geometry remained essential elements throughout most design periods of architecture, but their importance and use always changed slightly depending on the values or styles that were the most influential at the time. “We will therefore borrow all our rules for the finishing of our proportions, from the musicians who are the greatest masters of this kind of numbers, and of those things where nature shows itself the most excellent and the most complete” – Leon Battista AlbertiLa Geometry and the beauty of nature can be considered subjective or in the eyes of the but there are also scientific principles behind it in the form of proportions which can hint at the conclusion that nature is a science. The ancient Greeks developed astronomy as a branch of mathematics to a very sophisticated level, the first three-dimensional geometric models were created to explain the apparent motion of the planets. However, it was in the 17th century that significant changes took place in the field of cosmology and astronomy. Johannes Kepler's discovery that planetary orbits were elliptical and not circular revolutionized astronomy at the time. Celestial physics which linked forms to Godshowed the importance of geometry in terms of creating and understanding the universe. Kepler often emphasized his philosophical approach to the questions he faced. Expressing the concept that God manifests Himself not only through the Scriptures but also in the arrangement of the universe and in its conformity with our human intellect. Therefore, astronomy represents for Kepler, if practiced philosophically and correctly, the best path to God. Kepler restored traditional ideas about creation, giving ancient beliefs a more systematic and quantitative character responsible for creation. Even the idea of the Trinity can be represented geometrically, using the center for the Father, the spherical surface for the Son, and the space in between for the Holy Spirit. In Kepler's model, we are able to reduce all appearances to the straightness and curvature that form the basis of the geometric structure of the world's vast creations. The first system through which God imagined himself in his creations is quantity. In which quantity has also been presented to us intellectually with the aim that this fundamental symmetry can be understood and known scientifically. Inigo Jones, an architect during the Stuart and Baroque period, introduced a style of design based not only on geometry and shapes, but also on the theories behind architecture that played a central role throughout antiquity . He was the first major English architect to apply Vitruvius' rules of proportion and symmetry to his buildings, as well as introducing Italian Renaissance architecture to Britain. This influence along with Palladianism created uniform and beautifully proportioned buildings. The Villa Farnese in Caprarola was a massive Renaissance and Mannerist construction that was one of the finest pieces of architecture of this period. Ornamental decoration was rarely used on the building to achieve proportions and harmony that made it aesthetically pleasing. So even though the villa dominates the surrounding area, its extreme design still complements the site. The Mannerist style used during this era was developed in reaction to the ornate High Renaissance designs of 20 years previously. Plans were designed for a pentagon built around a collimated circular courtyard. Another fine example of architecture from this era was the Dome of Saint Carlo, Rome, by Francesco Borromini. It has a circular shape with a center of light opening to represent God and the distortion applied makes it appear larger and taller than it actually is. Chiswick House, inspired by Jones, takes the Palladian/Italian idea of room sequencing where different geometrically shaped rooms are all linked together to offer a range of experiences from different perspectives. Palladian windows were a key element of the design style and easily recognizable. It was a large three-section window with the central section being arched and larger than the two side sections. This symmetry within them is what makes them distinct and adds more order within the buildings themselves. The Venetian Carlo Lodoli (1690-1761) was a proponent of a radical approach to the way architecture was before, his extreme position was that architecture had to be thought of. as a science and not a field of artistic imagination governed by rules of beauty. He did not agree with the fixed proportions of the orders. The design did not depend on ideal models but on (1) function, by which he understood how the structure of a building behaves depending on the use of the building,,.