Project 1.1 - Surveying and Mapping You

Project 1.1 is the first part of two exercises. It will require you to perform an
extensive study of measuring and documenting the human form, and anthropometric study of your being.

Include the following information in your drawing:
+ Height, Width, Depth, Length & Diameter of every part of your body (be thorough and obsessive!)

- Torso
- Arms
- Fingers
- Legs
- Toes
- Head

+ Indicate the distances between joints and their subsequent ranges of motion
+ Provide metrics that include:

- Length of Stride
- Height of Jump
- Extent of Reach
- Distance of Sight
- Range of Hearing
- Acuity of Smell
- Sensitivity of Touch
- Speed of Reaction to Stimulus
- Awesomeness of your Superpowers

The Human Body is also an amazing example of mathematical proportions. Discovering the proportions that exist within the dimensions of your own body can prove to be fairly interesting. Compare your own measurements to see if you can find any other interesting relationships.
Here are a few examples:

+ The height of your head is approximately 1/8th of your total body height.
+ The length of the wingspan of your arms (fingertip to fingertip) is equivalent to your total body height.
+ The length of your foot is close to the length of your forearm.
+ The ratio that exists between the distance between the top of your head to your navel compared to the the bottom of your feet to your navel produces the golden ratio or phi (roughly 1.618)

You've been given the specifics of how you shall present this information during our studio session, now it's up to you to choose how you want to present your survey graphically.

There are many methods for representing this information. Below I've included a visual collection of other mappings of the human body for inspiration and consideration, but you should seek your own inspiration too, be aware of how people map human bodies.

Ask yourself:
How was this representation of the human form created?
What information is being translated?
Is this representation effective? If not, why?




Albrect Dürer - Investigate his book "Four Books on Human Proportion":




The next entry will begin to address different method of representing the human form where we'll investigate the combination and usage of different visual techniques to document and map the human condition.

Project 1 - Anthropometry

The intent of the first project is to create a personal understanding of space through the investigation of your own physical condition. Has a counter top ever felt too high? Have ceilings ever felt too low? Has anything ever felt out of reach? Have you ever repositioned your body to fit through a tight space?

. . : : Consider: The Gentle Giant : : . .
Extra bonus if you can identify the tune that the town band is playing in this clip!

Throughout history, architects have attempted to document and standardize their design practices to accommodate the average human form in terms of mathematical proportions, geometric measure and visual representations. Vitruvius’ de Architectura (c. 25 BC) inspired Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic Vitruvian Man (1487), the iconic visual representation of man inscribed within a circle and a square. The same proportions have been reconsidered by Leone Battista Alberti and more recently by Le Corbusier in his canonical work Le Modular.

Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man

Le Corbusier's Le Modular Diagram utilizes graphic devices as a vector for understanding human proportion.

In popular culture, aberrations from these average measurements are fodder for sensational stories that captivate our imagination.

. . : : Consider: The 7 1/2th Floor : : . .
. . : : Consider: Derek Zoolander : : . .

Sometimes in reality, structures and buildings are designed without consideration for human scale. As architects, we cannot always design for a specific individual, so it becomes our responsibility to understand the average human condition. Your task in this first project is to gain a sensitivity and understanding of what it means to design for the human form. First you will obtain an understanding your own and then you will understand what it means to design for others.

Welcome Back!

Congratulations for winning the desk rearrangement competition, I do hope you enjoyed those tasty chocolates!

We've got a lot ground to cover this term and periodically I'll want to share interesting tidbits that I think will help you on your architectural quest. Please feel free to have open discussions, ask questions and even contribute discoveries you've made on this blog. I hope that you'll find it a useful vehicle for expanding your knowledge base and encouraging exploration and an open discourse.