Buildings are subconsciously built to fit our scale in order to accommodate our needs comfortably. But we often hear about cases where the space is not inclusive to certain people.
Little things like not being able to reach a shelf while at the grocery store create dependency, and it often gets annoying. Now imagine that being the case for every little thing in the space. That becomes a real problem.
Anthropometry is the measurement of the human scale and body. By understanding the conscious and common movements of the human body, it becomes easier to understand the needs and limitations in the design.
In Architecture, Anthropometry is used to design spaces that are efficient, functional, and user-friendly.
Each space results in different sets of motion that need to be taken into consideration during the design of l space. Anthropometry also varies based on need, age group, culture, location, and so on.
Ex: While designing a school, the anthropometric movements of children aged 6-18 years must be considered, with movements such as walking, running, reaching out to a shelf, toilet seat height, etc.
Some Architects of the past have studied and explored different aspects of Anthropometry in order to understand the human scale and its impact on design and dimensions. Some have also arrived at theories that help us accustom ourselves to the human scale in an easier manner.
The Vitruvian man, one of the most prominent images of western art, is a hand-drawn image of a nude man inside a circle. This image was used to represent human proportions and how the entire body fits inside the radius of a circle.
Da Vinci drew the man with four arms and four legs, which let him represent 16 different poses simultaneously.
The Vitruvian man is a symbol of the perfection of human proportions. These proportions can be put to use to measure spaces without the need for external equipment.
Le Modulor was a proportioning system that was birthed out of the 20 years of research Le Corbusier did to devise a common measurement system that can be used throughout the world.
This anthropometric measuring system was created with the combination of the golden mean and the measurement of a human male. It is a method of dividing the human body on the basis of the golden mean ratio.
Inspired by the works of Vitruvius, Alberti and so on, Corbusier designed an ideal dimension that could be commonly used in the architecture and construction industry.
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