View source for Human scale

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[[Image:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb|250px|The ''[[Vitruvian Man]]'', by Italian polymath [[Leonardo da Vinci]], is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect [[Vitruvius]]. ]]
{{Short description|Concept that takes people as the primary measure of development}}
'''Human scale''' is the set of physical qualities, and quantities of information, characterizing the [[human]] body, its motor, sensory, or mental capabilities, and human social institutions.

== Science vs. human scale ==

Many of the objects of scientific interest in the universe are much larger than human scale (stars, galaxies) or much smaller than human scale (molecules, atoms, subatomic particles).

Similarly, many time periods studied in science involve time scales much greater than human timescales ([[geologic timescale|geological]] and [[cosmological time scale]]s) or much shorter than human timescales (atomic and subatomic events).

Mathematicians and scientists use very [[large number|large]] and small numbers to describe physical quantities, and have created even larger and smaller numbers for theoretical purposes.

Human scale measurements, however, are more in the order of:

* [[Distance]]: [[1 E0 m|one to two metres]] ({{cvt|3-6|ft|m|1|order=flip|disp=or}} &ndash; human arm's reach, stride, height)
* [[Attention span]]: seconds to hours
* [[Life expectancy|Life span]]: 75 years (mean life expectancy at birth)
* [[Mass]]: [[1 E0 kg|kilograms]] &ndash; most typically, for newborns from about {{convert|3|-|4|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} for a human adult their weight range is about {{convert|50|-|100|kg|lb|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} 
* [[Force]]: [[Newton (unit)|newton]]s (e.g. the weight of a human on Earth, on the order of several hundred newtons, or about 100&ndash;200&nbsp;lb<sub>f</sub>)
* [[Pressure]]: one [[Atmosphere (unit)|standard atmosphere]] (average pressure on Earth at sea level, approximately {{convert|100|kPa|inHg|sigfig=1|abbr=on|lk=in|disp=or}})
* [[Temperature]]: around {{convert|300|K|C F|abbr=on|lk=in}} (room temperature); {{convert|250|to|320|K|C F|abbr=on|-1}} (normal range of temperatures in most inhabited regions of Earth)
* [[Energy]]: typical adult human energy intake is around {{convert|10|MJ|kcal|abbr=off}} per day

== Human scale in architecture ==
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[[File:Modulor measurements.svg|thumb|[[Le Corbusier]]'s [[Modulor]] scale of proportions]]
Humans interact with their environments based on their physical dimensions, capabilities and limits. The field of [[anthropometrics]] (human measurement) has unanswered questions, but it's still true that human physical characteristics are fairly predictable and objectively measurable. Buildings scaled to human physical capabilities have steps, doorways, railings, work surfaces, seating, shelves, fixtures, walking distances, and other features that fit well to the average person.

Humans also interact with their environments based on their sensory capabilities. The fields of human perception systems, like [[perceptual psychology]] and [[cognitive psychology]], are not exact sciences, because human information processing is not a purely physical act, and because perception is affected by cultural factors, personal preferences, experiences, and expectations. So human scale in architecture can also describe buildings with sightlines, acoustic properties, task lighting, ambient lighting, and spatial grammar that fit well with human senses. However, one important caveat is that human perceptions are always going to be less predictable and less measurable than physical dimensions.

Human scale in architecture is deliberately violated:

* for monumental effect. Buildings, statues, and memorials are constructed in a scale larger than life as a social/cultural signal that the subject matter is also larger than life. One example is the [[The Motherland Calls|Rodina (Motherland) statue]] in [[Volgograd]].
* for aesthetic effect. Many architects, particularly in the [[Modernist]] movement, design buildings that prioritize structural purity and clarity of form over concessions to human scale. This became the dominant American architectural style for decades.  Some notable examples among many are [[Henry N. Cobb|Henry Cobb]]'s [[200 Clarendon Street|John Hancock Tower]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], much of [[I. M. Pei]]'s work including the [[Dallas City Hall]], and [[Mies van der Rohe]]'s [[Neue Nationalgalerie]] in [[Berlin]].
* to serve automotive scale. Commercial buildings that are designed to be legible from roadways assume a radically different shape. The human eye can distinguish about 3 objects or features per second.{{citation needed|reason=I was unable to find a reliable source supporting this. They mostly point back to this very entry.|date=April 2015}} A pedestrian steadily walking along a {{convert|30|m|ft|adj=on|sigfig=1}} length of department store can perceive about 68 features; a driver passing the same frontage at {{convert|50|km/h|m/s mph|abbr=on}} can perceive about six or seven features. Auto-scale buildings tend to be smooth and shallow, readable at a glance, simplified, presented outward, and with signage with bigger letters and fewer words.  This urban form is traceable back to the innovations of developer A. W. Ross along [[Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California|Wilshire Boulevard]] in Los Angeles in 1920.

== Common sense and human scale ==

"[[Common sense]]" ideas tend to relate to events within human experience, and thus commensurate with these scales. There is thus no commonsense intuition of, for example, interstellar distances or speeds approaching the speed of light.

[[Weights and measures]] tend to reflect human scale, and many older systems of measurement featured units based directly on the dimensions of the body, such as the [[foot (unit)|foot]] and the [[cubit]]. The [[metric system]], which is based on precisely reproducible and measurable physical quantities such as the speed of light, still attempts to keep its base units within the range of human experience. Systems of natural units (such as [[Planck units]]) are useful in theoretical physics, but are not suitable for everyday purposes; because the [[SI]] units are defined in terms of constants of nature they can be thought of as natural units rescaled to human proportions.

==See also==
{{div col}}
* [[Anthropic principle]]
* [[Anthropic units]]
* [[Anthropometrics]]
* [[Ergonomics]]
* [[Leopold Kohr]]
* [[List of human-based units of measure]]
* [[Scales of measurement]]
* [[Small Is Beautiful]]
* [[Standard temperature and pressure]]
* [[Urban vitality]]
* [[Walkability]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Human-based units of measurement|*]]