Modulor and space

Le Corbusier based his proportions of the cloister at the St. Marie de La Tourette Monastery on Le Modulor, a standard measurement which was based on the height of the average American male.  This scale was ideal for the Dominican monks as it reflected their vow of poverty taken, as it limited the size of the room to the bare necessity.  Comparing the image above to the image of the dormitory with furniture, one can see that there is exactly enough room for sleep, prayer and reflection, and little else. The orientation of the dormitory with the glazed wall and balcony frames an image of the wilderness, emulating the sublime in a human-scaled room.

I started to think about designing based on the scale of the average American male, and I wondered how my own room might be scaled with me, an average height American male.  It turns out that my apartment is more or less modulor, floor to ceiling.

Here's the documentary that the Corbu screen shots came from, it's a great film and I highly recommend it