Date of Submission
Spring 5-7-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Peter Pittman
Abstract
Artists of all kinds including architects have studied in-depth the dimensions of the natural and built-world that surrounds us in order to produce the theories that have now formed the base of our discipline. Among these naturally formed dimensions lies human scale and proportion, a topic tightly woven within the historical fabric of art and architecture. Vitruvius, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Le Corbusier are just 3 of the many that have dared to define the rules the human body. Human centric design is a form of design that responds directly to the human body as well as human nature in order to complement the human experience. It is human nature to MOVE. Movement is natural and while it can be controlled it cannot always be predicted. This is an extremely interesting part of human nature that I seek to understand. Art has been depicting the human body and movement for thousands of years. From ancient cave paintings to classical sculptures and modern paintings, artists have been fascinated by the beauty and expressiveness of the human form. Methods of capturing movement have been studied by photographers like Edward Muybridge and architects like Gregg lynn. Particularly through the movement of dance we can express, capture, and communicate our feelings and emotions. Dance is a physical, psychological, and social behavior that has been and always will be an integral part of our human nature. To quote Le corbusier “Music, like architecture, is time and space.”- Le Corbusier music and architecture are catalysts for movement but at the same time, as Gregg Lynn would say “Architecture can be modeled as a participant immersed within dynamical flows.” and that is just how it should be. Architecture and movement are defined by many overlapping principles including form, time, and space. Similar to a dancer, an architect makes use of rhythms and patterns within time and carefully arranges lines and shapes to create form. However, as we approach space architects and dancers begin to work together as architects create space informed by our movement, and dancers move through space informed by our built-environment. Movement of the human body is natural; it presents a complex part of nature that deserves to be studied and understood.