Proportion

I confess not to have read every word yet. I ordered it hoping for detailed information about the "Padovan sequence" or "Plastic Number" 1.324718..., which I discovered myself decades ago in college and have tried to use in architecture and graphic design. Most of what Padovan says about it here is metaphysical rather than architectural or mathematical, and since the metaphysical aspect he poses strikes me initially as questionable, I feel somewhat let down. Along the way he does have wide-ranging discussions (a little in the spirit of Christian Norberg-Schulz) of Neoplatonism, the Baroque in architecture, Kant, and Le Corbusier's Modulor, which he ultimately does not find a satisfying solution to the problem of proportion---which he transforms into a problem of providing in design and life a perceptible progression of "types and orders of size" rather than linear or two-dimensional relationships like the Golden Section. I do plan to spend more time with the book, and perhaps will come to benefit from its philosophical erudition, but for anyone wanting to know more of a practical nature about the presumed headliner---proportions based on "his" Plastic Number 1.324718---there's little meat to chew on for the high cost of the book, as pleasing as it is to hold in your hand and peruse.

Unlike any other books I have found on the subject of architectural proportion and composition. I thought this book was extremely interesting in the review of historical periods and their connections between architecture, philosophy and geometry. He touches on all of the major Western philosophers. There is both abstract conceptual thinking and specific architectural methods one could apply immediately. Highly recommend this book!

My grandson was very pleased to receive this book for his birthday. He is a young architect and said this book was just what he needed for the development of his work. My grandson, John, has just written me that this book has introduced him to an architect he had not known before, and it is proving to be a good text to ground him in the history of aesthetic thinking as it pertains to proportion. Of course I am delighted to hear this! I bought this book at Amazon.

The book looks great. Haven't had time to open it yet, but it looks like it's in great condition.