Scaling Unity

Scale is the conversion of the size of an object for comparative purposes while maintaining proportion. It can be a verb or a noun. In drafting, scale is an important part of crafting the work accurately. Scale can reference the height of a building and in drawing, can be manipulated to make an image much larger or smaller than it appears to the human eye. A great example of this is quoted by Roth on pg. 232, "The present Propylaia replaced an earlier, smaller gate that had faced more toward the southwest; after that gate was destroyed by the Persian fire in 480 B.C.E., it was replaced in 437-432 B.C.E. with the present larger, more ceremonial marble entrance..." This quote allows us as readers to see how scale is utilized in many ways, in that particular instance in Propylaia, after a disaster to help motivate and encourage a stronger and new beginning. Where I am from, in Concord, there was a Mill and many people lost their jobs in Kannapolis that had been working there for years and years. After the mill was torn down, a Biotech Campus was born and it is absolutely beautiful and just recently opened. This new building is larger than the mill ever was, is modern and much larger in aesthetic scale and gives hope to residents.  Therefore, there are many modern examples of this type of scale modification. Architects utilize this idea of "teasing" the eye in building forms to create a certain feel. For example, the Temple of Karnak has two large front facades and larger than life human statues guarding the entrance, making the temple very intimidating and important looking. As stated by scale has been a large part of architecture through the ages. In Egypt, the pyramids were used to show hierarchy and in Greece, the columns. 

A sketch of the Temple of Karnac from my history notes

Sections show certain areas of visual interest, the most descriptive view of something for to cut up into parts. Sections are used to show parts and individual pieces of items such as a chair or table or entertainment center. In drafting, sections are done using a technique called poche' and it allows for an item to be divided along an access and to draw sections through where the cuts would be in scale. Scale can also refer to the measure of time; we worked in parts and pieces of time to accomplish a task. Roth states this on page 237 saying, "The aspects that have made the Parthenon so special from the time of its creation include the extraordinary precision of its construction and the subtleties and refinements used in its design." Therefore, architecture at that time was about adding the details on site. Columns and so forth were placed in the ground and then refinements were made, sections were edited. 

Scale figure next to a section drawing from drafting class.

The back view of a scale model for Pat's Furniture Project. 

Unity refers to the connecting of parts to make a single, whole part. Last semester, my classmates and I individually made a "unity" project out of paper and skewers. It allowed me to utilize Gestault's theories and to understand his concepts in true form. Unity can be reflective in drawing as well---watercolor meets a pen + ink drawing and the two media's work cooperatively to make a single work of art. Throughout the history of time, columns were used and are still utilized as a form of unifying important buildings and to bring a sense of unity to an area or its surroundings. This idea that columns are joining together buildings and structures is re-iterated in Roth. He states, "The column and beam, or post and lintel, system is as old as human construction." pg. 29-31 "The more slender Ionic order has an ornamental base.." "The Greek orders were subsequently adopted by the Romans, who used them largely as decorative elements..." These statements prove that Romans, Greeks and the like today utilized this form of architecture as a means of expression. Later, columns would be used by cities in various areas as a means of boasting their riches. 

Columns in order from left to right: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian

Boundaries are borders, edges, sides and perimeters. These localities are defined in most instances or can even be theoretical. Blakemore states page 27, "Geographically, Greece was a mountainous country surrounded by three seas---Aegean, Mediterranean, and Ionian." Also, "This isolation fostered great independence on the part of both small communities and individuals." These quotes by Blakemore encinuate that boundaries do not just lie in specific drafting borders or edges of sketchbook pages, but can also relate the world around us, especially state lines, countries borders and island territories.

     Hand drawn sketch of Greece

 

Vignette's are pictures that appear unfinished at the edges and fade into the scenery; a highlighted section with some form of importance. Vignette's can be done with pen + ink, variation in color, gradation, watercolor, colored pencil and so forth. An example of a vignette would be a man sitting on a stool at the bar and only showing him in full color and fading everything behind him into the sketchbook page to an eventual white. A vignette has been said to be a story without words or a system of parts to show a scene within a scenery. Roth states on page 240, "...the human observer is challenged to contemplate the never-ending struggle between reason and irrationality, civilization and barbarism, logs and chaos." Meaning that this simply refers to human observation, angles and viewpoints; a struggle to decide what is important and what is not. What should serve as a vignette in a total scene? Vignette's should be thought of as paper towel tube views of a space where only a small circle of space is seen at a time. 

Vignette of a mall interior in Hickory, NC

In conclusion, by unifying our ideas in architecture and design by utilizing our cultural and religious fusions, as well as techniques, we can create unity within our individual boundaries.  Architecture through time has told stories through ruins and remains, their vignette's, are relevant to our current designs. Scale allows for unified ideas to be amplified and transformed into various translations. Now, in the twentieth century, we have much of this historical past in our current designs and even though sections may be modernized, the unified belief systems of the past are still ever present.