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can be extended indefinitely, an apparently endless series can
evoke a sense of yearning towards infinite distances.
Literature: Berndt et al. 1977> atmosphere, darkness, light, monument, ritual, soundThrough choice of scale, a spatial > concept is set into rela-
tionship with concrete reality. According to Philippe Boudon
(1991), it is scalar relationships that distinguish architecture
from geometry. The scale not only indicates the relationship
between a model or drawing and its realization, but also sup-
plies the fundamental law for translating the mental space of
the architectural design into the real space of built architec-
ture, where it is now subject to concrete experience. In con-
trast to > proportion, which orders the ratios between various
parts of an object, scale refers to the relative size in relation-
ship to other objects, to a customary reference magnitude, an
external reference area, or reference system. The human scale
of architecture is related, for example, to the dimensions of
the human body. In this context, we may speak of a ‘leap in
scale’, of an object being ‘true to scale’, or of confusion caused
by a ‘scale error’.
The various reference areas are also formed by the per-
ceptual spaces that result from various distances. The task of
architecture is to coordinate these various scales with one an-
other within an architectural complex. The detail scale, for
example, corresponds to perceptions in the close range, where
profiles, joints, ornamentation and masonry bonds determine
magnitudes (> detail). In an expanded perceptual space, the
entire building is perceived at a distance as the assembly of
the whole from larger parts and in its spatial context. One
and the same form, for example a pedestal articulation, can
be read on various scales according to the reference system
and perceptual distance, and it thereby has contrasting ef-Sacral
Scale