THE MODULOR

The Modulor is an

anthropometric scale of

proportions devised by the

Swiss-born French architect Le

Corbusier (1887–1965).

It was developed as a

visual bridge between two

incompatible scales, the

imperial and the metric system. It is based on the height of a man with his

arm raised.

The graphic representation of the Modulor, a stylized human figure

with one arm raised, stands next to two vertical measurements, a red

series based on the figure's navel height (1.08 m in the original version,

1.13 m in the revised version) then segmented according to Phi, and a

blue series based on the figure's entire height, double the navel height

(2.16 m in the original version, 2.26 m in the revised), segmented similarly.

A spiral, graphically developed between the red and blue segments,

seems to mimic the volume of the human figure.

 THE VITRUVIAN MAN

The Vitruvian Man is a drawing made by the Italian polymath

Leonardo da Vinci around 1490. It is accompanied by notes based on the

work of the Roman architect Vitruvius. The drawing, which is in ink on

paper, depicts a man in two superimposed positions with his arms and

legs apart and inscribed in a circle and square. The drawing and text are

sometimes called the Canon of

Proportions or, less often,

Proportions of Man. It is kept in the

Gabinetto dei disegni e stampe of the

Gallerie dell'Accademia, in Venice,

Italy, under reference 228. Like most

works on paper, it is displayed to the

public only occasionally, so it is not

part of the normal exhibition of the

museum.

This image demonstrates the

blend of mathematics and art during the Renaissance and demonstrates

Leonardo's deep understanding of proportion. In addition, this picture

represents a cornerstone of Leonardo's attempts to relate man to nature.

Encyclopædia Britannica online states, "Leonardo envisaged the great

picture chart of the human body he had produced through his anatomical
drawings and Vitruvian Man as a cosmografia del minor mondo

(cosmography of the microcosm). He believed the workings of the human

body to be an analogy for the workings of the universe."

REFLECTION

I think that size, scale, and proportion are where a good architect

makes their living. There are all sorts of devices that have been developed

to help designers determine how best to guide them in their creations; and

the Modulor and the Vitruvian Man are the two best examples of it. These

two are well-known and contributed a lot in the field of Architecture and

both of them focused on making visual scales and how it can be the basis

of almost every habitable structure that will ever be made. As both of the

Vitruvian Man and Modular seem to have the same use as an

anthropometric scale but the truth is both of them are different in many

ways.

The Vitruvian Man is based on the correlations of the human body

proportions with geometry. It was made because Vitruvius described the

human figure as being the principal source of proportion and should be

one of the bases for architecture. The drawing itself is often used as an

implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body. On the other

hand, Le Modulor is developed to depict as a visual bridge between two

incompatible scales, the imperial and the metric system. This system is
based on a number of variables including: human measurements, the

double unit, the Fibonacci numbers, and the golden ratio. These two may

be different but it was a very helpful innovation made by two great artists

to achieve the three qualities a structure must exhibit – that is stability,

utility, and beauty. These are sometimes termed the Vitruvian virtues or

the Vitruvian Triad. Achieving these virtues is essential and with the help

of these said systems, the quality of being useful of a structure will be

attainable without compromising its strength and aesthetic quality.