The Golden Mean - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned 3 May The Golden Mean The architectural designs that are planned in consonance withthe Golden Mean are such buildings and monuments that are proportioned according to what is known as the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio stands to be an irrational number that is represented by the Greek letter ? (phi) and has a value that is approximately equal to 1.618. The Golden Ratio is known in the world of art and architecture by varied names like the Golden Mean, tau, Phi, The Divine Proportion, the Divine Section, the Golden Proportion and the Golden Cut (Roth 1993).

May sound surprising, yet it is true that the Golden Mean have always been an essential element of the natural world (Lamb 2011). The appearance of Fibonacci numbers on which the concept of Golden Mean is based, on a regular basis in the works of nature do corroborates the ancient conclusion and belief that nature is based on some predetermined and reoccurring patterns (Lamb 2011). Many ancient monuments like the Pyramids of Giza, the Greek temple in the Acropolis in Athens and many medieval churches had been designed in conformation with the Golden Mean (Knott 2010).

In a contemporary context, the United Nations Headquarters building located at New York had been designed in consonance with the concept of Golden Mean (Knott 2010). It was an international committee of architects comprising of influential and renowned architects like Wallace K Harrison, Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier that finalized the design of the United Nations Headquarters building at New York (A View on Cities 2011). Eventually it was a plan laid out by Le Corbusier, called 23A that was chosen to be the basis for the new building (A View on Cities 2011).

In 1950, Le Corbussier published a book named Le modulator, in which he recognized the relevance of the Golden Mean in the contemporary architecture (Knott 2010). He took care to incorporate his belief in this ancient concept into the design he drew for the upcoming United Nations Headquarters building. The team of architects that was assigned the overall construction and planning of the UN Headquarters decide to exploit the concept of Golden Mean in the new building in a variety of ways (Nathe & Hobgood 2011).

The Facade of the United Nations Headquarters building is based on three golden rectangles having different heights (Nathe & Hobgood 2011). A golden rectangle is a rectangle whose length and breadth are the segments of a line divided as per the Golden Section (The Columbia Encyclopaedia 2009). In the United Nations building, the ratio of the width of the building to the height of every ten floors results in the Golden Ratio (Nathe & Hobgood 2011). The same principle was used in determination of the shape of the windows in the building (Nathe & Hobgood 2011).

It goes without saying that the UN Headquarters building does have a unique aesthetic appeal that in no way has interfered with its functionality over the years. In the modern times, the Golden Mean may not comprise an architectural must, yet it will always continue to exist as an environmental design possibility that is perhaps as applicable today as it was in the past. It would not be wrong to say that in the postmodern architecture, the concept of Golden Mean certainly has relevance. The logic of most of the fundamentals and recurring themes of nature may be hidden from human understanding, yet the stability and proportion of the works of nature is definitely an apt source of inspiration for the contemporary architecture.

Reference List A View on Cities 2011, United Nations HQ, A View on Cities, 3 May 2011, < http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/unitednations.htm>. Knott, Ron 2010, Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section in Art Architecture and Music, 2 May 2011, . Lamb, Robert 2011, How are Fibonacci Numbers Expressed in Nature?, How Stuff Works, 2 May 2011, . Nathe, Christa & Hobgood, Kate 2011, The Golden Ratio in Architecture, 3 May 2011, . Roth, Leland M 1993, Understanding Architecture: its Elements History and Meaning, Westview Press, Boulder, CO.

The Columbia Encyclopaedia (6th Ed.). Columbia University Press, New York.