- Human scale
Human scale means "of a scale comparable to a
human being".A number of characteristic physical quantities can be associated with the human body, the human mind, and the preservation of human life.
*
Distance : one to two metres (human arm's reach, stride, height)
*Attention span : seconds to hours
*Lifespan : approximately seventy years
*Mass : kilogrammes
*Force :newton s
*Pressure : onestandard atmosphere
*Temperature : around 300 K (room temperature)Science vs. human scale
Many of the objects of scientific interest in the universe are much larger than human scale (stars, galaxies) or much smaller than human scale (molecules, atoms, subatomic particles).
Similarly, many time periods studied in science involve time scales much greater than human timescales (geological and
cosmological time scale s) or much shorter than human timescales (atomic and subatomic events).Mathematicians and scientists use very large and
small number s to describe physical quantities, and have created even larger and smaller numbers for theoretical purposes.Human scale in architecture
Humans interact with their environments based on their physical dimensions, capabilities and limits. The field of
anthropometrics (human measurement) has unanswered questions, but it's still true that human physical characteristics are fairly predictable and objectively measurable. Buildings scaled to human physical capabilities have steps, doorways, railings, work surfaces, seating, shelves, fixtures, walking distances, and other features that fit well to the average person.Humans also interact with their environments based on their sensory capabilities. The fields of human perception systems, like
perceptual psychology andcognitive psychology , are not exact sciences, because human information processing is not a purely physical act, and because perception is affected by cultural factors, personal preferences, experiences, and expectations. So human scale in architecture can also describe buildings with sightlines, acoustic properties, task lighting, ambient lighting, and spatial grammar that fit well with human senses. However, one important caveat is that human perceptions are always going to be less predictable and less measurable than physical dimensions.Human scale in architecture is deliberately violated:
* for monumental effect. Buildings, statues, and memorials are constructed in a scale larger than life as a social/cultural signal that the subject matter is also larger than life. The extreme example is the Rodina (Motherland) statue in
Volgograd (Stalingrad).* for aesthetic effect. Many architects, particularly in the
Modernist movement, design buildings that prioritize structural purity and clarity of form over concessions to human scale. This became the dominant American architectural style for decades. Some notable examples among many are Henry Cobb'sJohn Hancock Tower in Boston, much ofI. M. Pei 's work including theDallas City Hall , andMies van der Rohe 'sNeue Nationalgalerie inBerlin .* to serve automotive scale. Commercial buildings that are designed to be legible from roadways assume a radically different shape. The human eye can distinguish about 3 objects or features per second. A pedestrian steadily walking along a 100-foot (30-meter) length of department store can perceive about 68 features; a driver passing the same frontage at 30 mph (13 m/s or 44 ft/s) can perceive about six or seven features. Auto-scale buildings tend to be smooth and shallow, readable at a glance, simplified, presented outward, and with signage with bigger letters and fewer words. This urban form is traceable back to the innovations of developer A. W. Ross along Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1920.
Common sense and human scale
"
Common sense " ideas tend to relate to events within human experience, and thus commenurate with these scales. There is thus no commonsense intuition of, for example, interstellar distances or speeds approaching the speed of light.Weights and measures tend to reflect human scale, and many older systems of measurement featured units based directly on the dimensions of the body. Themetric system , which is based on other more reproducible physical quantities, still attempts to keep its base units within the range of human experience. Other systems, such asPlanck units are useful for theoretical purposes, but are not useful for everyday purposes.Quotes
* "Man is the measure of all things, of things that are, that they are; and of things that are not, that they are not". --
Protagoras ee also
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Anthropometrics
*Ergonomics
*Anthropic principle
*Standard temperature and pressure
*Scales of measurement
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