Scale: A Word of Several Meanings

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What Is scale, Why Is It Important, and hoW Is It Used?

In this chapter you will learn about:

• The many meanings of the word “scale” • The reasons for scaled drawings • How to choose the right scale for a drawing • Principles for reading a topographic map

Scale: a Word of Several MeaningS

The word “scale” has at least three meanings in design. The wooden or plastic instrument we learned to call a “ruler” in kindergarten is referred to as a scale in landscape architecture, engineering, and architecture. In its first meaning, the word “scale” refers to the device we use for measuring, to guide the designer in creating a plan or detail on paper or computer. The second meaning of the word “scale” refers to proportions—that is, a means of representing the actual dimensions of say a building by a drawing that fits on a sheet of paper. A third meaning of “scale” refers to the size of an object relative to the size of a person. In this case, when we use the word “scale,” as in “the wall height is in scale with people,” we mean that the height of the wall is not overwhelming relative to the space and the people using the space.

The pattern of the campus walkway shown in Figure 5.1, located in the central quad on the UCLA campus, was designed by early twentieth-century landscape architect Ralph Cornell, with the intent of incorporating selected

architectural details from the surrounding buildings. The buildings are all faced with brick, using both standard (35⁄8 × 2¼ × 75⁄8) and Roman (35⁄8 × 15⁄8 × 115⁄8) sized bricks. The basic module that underlies the size, shape, and pattern of the walkway is based on a Roman brick. The walkway was designed with a sufficient width to handle the traffic of large numbers of students. The walkway was subdivided into units representing individual personal space. The larger intersection that can accommodate 16 to 20 students is given a personal scale by subdividing the width into smaller units. The designer for the original drawing used an architect’s or engineering scale, prepared at 20 or perhaps 40 scale. One can critique the design by saying that the designer brought the scale of the broad walk, built to carry a large number of people, down to human scale by establishing a detailing module that roughly approximates the personal space of a single student. The term “relative scale” is the meaning of the word “scale” used here.

Group Space16’ x 16’ Personal Space24” x 24”

35/8” x 11 5/8” Detail Module

Figure 5.1 Concept of relative scale explained using a campus walk