URBAN DESIGN: STREET AND SQUARE
The double square has, however, been used to great effect, for example, it is the basis of Japanese house planning. As a proportion for use on a façade, the double square gave Alberti no problems: ‘If the length of the platform be twice its breadth: then where the roof is to be flat, the height must be equal to the breadth.’56 The apparent proportion of an architectural element is affected by the context in which it is placed, that is the way in which it is related to adjacent elements. A door, for example, is seen against the surrounding wall and a wall against an abutting wall and the floorplane on which it sits (Figures 2.9–2.10). The apparent size or proportion of an element is also changed by its detailing (Figure 2.11). While many riders and qualifications can be added, the general principle holds true that the
2.8 Figure 2.8 Semi-detached house, Nottingham Figure 2.9 Minaret of the Grand Mosque, Kairouan Figure 2.10 Basilica di S. Antonio, Padua Figure 2.11 Low Pavement, Nottingham
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equality of proportion, the original unity will be weakened. Geometric forms which can easily be divided into two equal parts are, therefore, to be used with care. For this reason some writers have suggested that the double square is a weak form to be avoided. The eye, it is argued, conditioned to see simple shapes, detects the presence of the two squares and divides the original unit into two definite and equal single units so creating a duality.
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