1Levels of Scale
Scale refers to how we perceive the size of an element or space relative to other forms around it. All things – a tea cup, a building, language, entire eco-systems – consist of smaller components. It is the relationship of the smaller elements which determines the character and degree of life of the whole.
Objects which contain a high degree of life tend to contain a beautiful range of scales within, which exist at a series of well-marked intervals and have clearly recognizable jumps between them. To have good levels of scale, it is extremely important that the jumps between different scales of centers not be too great or too small.
FOREST OF COLUMNS Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain
JAPANESE HOUSE
FLOOR TILE PATTERN St. Mark's Cathedral, Venice
Levels of Scale
Strong Centers
Boundaries
Alternating Repetition
Positive Space
Good Shape
Local Symmetries
Deep Interlock
Contrast
Graded Variation
Roughness
Echoes
The Void
Inner Calm
Not-
Separateness