Selected Bibliography Architecture - Form Space and Order | Page 314

P ROP ORT I ON I N G S Y S T E M S

Even considering the proportional constraints imposed on a
form by the nature of its material, its structural function, or
by the manufacturing process, the designer still has the ability to control the proportion of the forms and spaces within
and around a building. The decision to make a room square or
oblong in plan, intimate or lofty in scale, or to endow a building with an imposing, higher-than-normal facade, legitimately
falls to the designer. But on what basis are these decisions
made?

If a space 400 square feet in area were required, what
dimensions—what ratios of width-to-length and length-toheight—should it have? Of course, the functioning of the
space and the nature of the activities to be accommodated
will influence its form and proportion.

20 x 20

400 square feet

18 x 22

16 x 24

8 x 50

A square space, having four equal faces, is static in nature. If its length expands and
dominates its width, it becomes more dynamic. While square and oblong spaces define places
for activity, linear spaces encourage movement and are susceptible to subdivision into a
number of zones.

A technical factor, such as its structure, might limit one
or more of its dimensions. Its context—the exterior
environment or an adjacent interior space—might pressure
its form. The decision might be to recall a space from
another time and place and to simulate its proportions.
Or the decision might be based finally on an aesthetic,
visual judgment of the “desir &