Page 72 - Vertical City

72 The vertical city

These dimensions, that we attempt to organize
in harmonious proportions, subdivide the orders of
magnitude, much like the notes of music in each octave.

The meter determines the space of the rooms in
which we live as well as the components of its walls, the
decimeter the scale of our bodies, and the centimeters
objects to be held in our hands.

The respect of our five senses and of physiology

The second observation concerns respect of our five
senses and of our physiology. Again, although nothing
should oppose this, it is not the case for most existing
high-rise constructions.

Le Corbusier, Le Modulor, essai sur une mesure harmonique à l’échelle
humaine applicable universellement à l’Architecture et à la mécanique.
Paris, Editions de l’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 1949. The work of
Julius PANERO and Martin ZELNIK, Human dimension & interior
space, New York, Whitney Library of Design, 1979, is the most
recent and useful reference for architects.
This collection was then highly developed for the needs of auto-
mobile and aviation. By the vastness of information also dealing with
the respect of our five senses, the collective work Humanscale is
probably the most comprehensive work that I know of today on
this subject: Niels DIFFRIENT, Alvin R. TILLEY, David HARMAN,
Joan BARDAGIY, Humanscale™. Designed by Henry Dreyfuss
Associates, Cambridge (Ma). The MIT Press, 1973 (1.a. Body Meas-
urements / 1.b. Link Measurements / 2.a. Seating Guide / 2.b. Seat –
Table Guide / 3.a. Wheelchair Users / 3.b. Handicapped and Elderly /
4.a. Human Strength / 4.b. Safety / 5.a. Hand and Foot Controls / 5.b.
Displays / 6.a. Head and Vision / 6.b. Hands and Feet / 7.a. Standing
at work / 7.b. Seated at work / 8.a. Space Planning / 8.b. Public Space
/ 9.a. Body Access / 9.b. Light and Color.