The Balance Problem Set

Problem 4 Tutorial: Define Scale

Question: Without looking at a particular image, which of the following best describes the size relationship at the urban scale?

A. the building details and the human hand

B. building to human being

C. city to human being

Tutorial:

Scale

Scale is how we perceive the size relationship of one thing to another. Typically, we use ourselves, that is our bodies, as the measure in determining whether something else is "large" or "small".

Urban Scale

The largest architectural scale is that of the city. Called the urban scale, it encompasses buildings, streets, bridges, plazas, parks, monuments, etc. At the urban scale we see buildings in relationship to one another, as solids in relationship to open spaces and as a much larger structure in relationship to ourselves. Much of our suburban development uses the same elements, but the formal arrangements are quite different.

Building Scale

The building scale is comprised of individual buildings. Our "measure" of a building will be in relationship to our bodies, whether we are considering the outside of the building or the inside space that is created.

Detail Scale

The smallest scale is the detail scale. This scale encompasses the elements that are related to the hand in size, such as bricks, tiles, mosaics, paintings and sculpture. Often associated with the "decoration" or ornament in a building, these elements are essential for two reasons. The first is that they bring a building of large size down to the scale of the human body, and the second is that they provide variation and interest to the eye at close range.

Problem 4 | Answer | Problem 5

Aesthetics | Balance Problems | vocabulary | The Architecture Project

The Architecture Project
University of Arizona
Tuesday, September 2, 1997
lapointe@u.arizona.edu