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{div {@ style=" text-align:center; font:bold 3em georgia; text-shadow:0 0 8px black; color:white; "} modulor, feet & inches} {center [[modulor_0]] | [[modulor_1]] | [[modulor_2]] | [[modulor_3]] } _h3 2) feet and inches _p Beside the Metric System, the Imperial System and the Modulor System, it appears that in the architectural domain, usual dimensions can be easily reached by a simple combination of feet and inches in the approximation {b 1 foot = 30.48cm ≠ 30cm} and {b 1 inch = 2.54cm ≠ 2.5cm}. Examples : _ul a seat : 45cm = 1.5' _ul a table : 75cm = 2.5' _ul a kitchen work desk : 90cm = 3' _ul a tall man : height 180cm = 6', idem for the width between fingers _ul a standard door's dimensions : 210cmx90cm = 7'x3' _ul ceiling's heights : 225cm = 7'6", 240cm = 8', 250cm = 8'4", 270 = 9' _ul a little room : 270cmx270cm = 9'x9' and a better one : 360cmx360cm = 12'x12' _ul passage unit : 60cm = 2' (which is also the step of the man who walks) _ul stairs formula : 2h+g in [60,65] : for g = 30cm = 1' h must be between 15cm = 0.5' and 17.5cm = 0.5' 1" _ul thickness of a standard plasterboard : 12,7mm = 1/2". Other thickness are 4/12" and 8/12". Two plasterboards makes one inch (1/2"+1/2"), and improve the acoustic behaviour of the partition. With two plasterboards with different thickness (4/12" + 8/12"), the frequencies of resonance will be different and the filter better. Thinking to this in the Metric System is very difficult, not in the Imperial System ! _ul ducts diameters 15mm = 1/2", 25mm = 1", ... 300mm = 12" _ul and so on ... {center {show {@ src="data/modulor/modulo.jpg" height="400" width="600" title="Usual dimensions with the Imperial System ... and Alain Marty's 5%"}}} _p So, with this simple set of "metricized" feet and inches : {b [30|2.5]}, it is possible to generate a serie of useful related values : {pre first downwards : 30 / 2 = 15 / 2 = 7.5 / 3 = 2.5 (or 1/2'=6", 1/4'=3", 1/12'=1") then upwards : 2.5 | 5 | 7.5 | 10.0 |12.5 | 15 | 17.5 | 20.0 | 22.5 | 25 | 27.5 | 30 and beyond that, for instance mixing with 15cm = 1/2' = 6" 45 | 60 | 75 | 90 | 105 | 120 | 135 | 150 | 165 | 180 | 195 | 210 |.. and also the metric series using 2" = 5cm or 4" = 10cm : 50 = 45 + 5 = 1.5'2", 100 = 90 + 10 = 3'4", ..... } _p As it has been shown before, some of these values are more or less close to values coming from the Modulor. Nothing prevent to limit the choice to these values and to get the benefit of the Modulor's golden ratio properties supposed to lead to harmonious proportions. Comparing both approaches in the sketch of Le Corbusier showing 8 figures : {pre . MODULOR cm, feet & inches a low seat : 0.27 0.30 = 1' a chair : 0.43 0.45 = 1.5' a table : 0.70 0.75 = 2.5' a kitchen work desk : 0.86 0.90 = 3' at a bar (ombilical) : 1.13 between 1.05 = 3.5' and 1.20 = 4' under the shoulders : 1.40 1.50 = 5' man's height : 1.83 1.80 = 6' man's hand up : 2.26 2.25 = 7.5' } _p And playing with other bigger values of the Modulor series : {pre 4.78 can be usefully replaced by 4.80 = 4 x 1.20 = 4 x 4 x 0.30 2.96 can be usefully replaced by 3.00 = 6 x 0.60 9.57 can be usefully replaced by 9.60 = 9.00 + 0.60 = 8 x 1.20 5.92 can be usefully replaced by 6.00 = 20 x 0.30 = 5 x 1.20 3.66 can be usefully replaced by 3.60 = 2 x 1.80 = 4 x 0.90 } _p Even if these values slightly deviate from the ideal propotions supposed to be given by the "golden ratio', their simplicity makes easy the perception of the scale and of the relations between the dimensions. Architecture is not only "Geometry", it is {b Geometry dot dimension}. _p So, in any case, all the values made of a combination of the couple {b [30|2.5]} are easy to memorize and combine, and are compatible with the values coming from the Metric System (12.5, 25.0, 100, ...). This system coming with a ligth approximation of the true foot and inch {u makes the junction} between the "Imperial System" and the "Metric System" in respect to the old measures of the ancient days ... _h5 the ancient days _p These considerations may seem ridiculously "Middle Age" and useless ! If so, why are the foot and the inch used in modern technologies such Computer Technologies ? The dimensions of a screen, of a pixel, of a font, of a page, are given in inches and not in centimeters ! Is it only because of the predominance of the USA in these technologies, a country in which the Metric System didn't penetrated ? Whatever it may be, my experience as an architect confirmed the fact that the couple {b [30|2.5]} gives the basis of a very good tool for conception in architecture, even if the dimensions are finally written in centimeters. In a lot of countries, the conceptual background of buildings dimensions is made of feet and inches. The Modulor was an attempt to fight against the Metric System, considered to be inappropriate in the building construction. But it was too complex, the Le Corbusier's "Série Rouge" and "Série Bleue" are not easy to use and so, they are never used today. _p So, {i IMHO}, I think that the idea of a "little smart modulor" made on gentle combinations of feet and inches could be seen as an acceptable and useful successor of the Modulor. Don't you ? _p It's now time to show how can this "little modulor" be used in the architectural domain : [[modulor_3]].