Les McCann

Did you know that the most appealing number to the eye is 1.618? This number is known as the Golden Ratio. In fact, our brains are seemingly hard-wired to prefer objects and images that use the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio is the limit of the ratios of successive terms of the Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci ratio is very close to the Golden ratio. The mathematical ideas the Fibonacci Sequence leads to, the Golden Ratio, and the Golden Spirals. As the number increases, the ratio becomes…

Published in these works, Le Corbusier declared that “a house is a machine for living in” and “a curved street is a donkey track; a straight street, a road for men.” He started to imply that a new architecture, one that would be defined over many generations, would fulfill the…

foothold in South America, with focus mainly on creating an appropriate image of modern architecture for their non-affluent tropical setting. The completed Brasília offers reflectance of both the acceptance and rejection of this European modernism. Le Corbusier was one of the forerunners of European modernism. He built City for Three Million back in 1922, which appeared to play a clear impact on the design of Brasília.…

Introduction This essay seeks to analyse the theoretical reasoning behind Louis Kahn’s approach towards non-details in his built work based on the definition of details as set out by Edward R. Ford in his publication, “The Architectural Detail.” and how it can be adapted to suit the design strategies of a multi-generation apartment. Detail is defined as “attention to or treatment of a subject in individual or minute parts”. The architectural detail starts off as a constructive or technical…

The twentieth century was an exciting period in European architectural history, it was a period of Modernism development. The early part of the period was focused on an approach by a group of architects who desired to reflect historical precedents and develop something completely new during their time. Instead of focusing on the traditional architecture such as ornaments, the architects during that time created a new aesthetic look using new materials and new structural approaches. This time of…

CCase study 2 The Villa Savoye Highlights of Villa Savoye The Villa Savoye is designed by Le Corbusier in 1927, it is an iconic building and it was defined as a historical monument. It signifies the five points of a new architecture. When constructing the roof garden, horizontal windows and free design of the facade, the reinforced concreted was applied in the design of the Villa Savoye. Therefore, it is studied in this project to learn about its possible design approaches under earthquake…

off a drastic change within the construction community, with the introductions of materials such as reinforced concrete. Concrete, as well as steel, allowed one to design much differently than before; perhaps a good example would be along the lines of Le Corbusier’s five points of architecture, with open plans and the usage of pilotis instead of load-bearing walls. This caused the focus to be shifted to non-technological aspects, such as production and cost efficiency . Designs weren’t the only…

Geometric Architecture Designs That Excite Do you have an eye for modern homes? If you do, you would love this contemporary homes with geometric touches in it. There’s something quite comforting and nostalgic about geometric architecture… it’s mathematical, it’s scientific, it’s timeless… In today’s world of complexity, aesthetic geometric patterns and architecture offer a simple and clean approach. Geometrics: A Timeless Trend Geometric art has been around forever. Right from the ancient…

published in 1961, is the most influential book about city planning. Jane wrote this book criticizing the modern city planning and rebuilding which she calls the orthodox city planning idea. Ebenezer howard’s self sufficient small town Garden city, Le-Corbusier’s Radiant City composed of skyscrapers and the Decentrists’ city decentralizing ideas are the victim of her criticism. In the book, she effectively describes the problems that orthodox city planning ideas create and how they make a city…

The Villa Savoye is one of the most important modern buildings of the 20th century which incorporated the Le Corbusier’s five principal points of architecture, and it could be the perfect realization of Le Corbusier's principles. This building is located outside of Paris and offers a space for occupants to escape from the crowded Paris. The location of the villa helped Le Corbusier to have freedom in design in order to create a masterpiece which would truly stand the test of time. This building,…