Human Scale

Humans interact with their environments based on their physical dimensions, capabilities and limits. The field of anthropometrics (human measurement) says that human physical characteristics are fairly predictable and objectively measurable. Buildings scaled to human physical capabilities have steps, doorways, railings, work surfaces, seating, shelves, fixtures, walking distances, and other features that fit well to the average person.

Humans also interact with their environments based on their sensory capabilities. The field of human perception systems, like perceptual psychology and cognitive psychology, are not exact sciences, because human information processing is not a purely physical act, and because perception is affected by cultural factors, personal preferences, experiences, and expectations. So human scale in architecture can also describe buildings with sightlines, acoustic properties, task lighting, ambient lighting, and spatial grammar that fit well with human senses. However, one important caveat is that human perceptions are always going to be less predictable and less measurable than physical dimensions

Human scale in architecture is deliberately violated:

• or monumental effect. Buildings, statues, and memorials are constructed in a scale larger than life as a social/cultural signal that the subject matter is also larger than life. 
• for aesthetic effect. Many architects, particularly in the Modernist movement, design buildings that prioritize structural purity and clarity of form over concessions to human scale. This became the dominant American architectural style for decades. 
• to serve automotive scale. Commercial buildings that are designed to be legible from roadways assume a radically different shape. The human eye can distinguish about 3 objects or features per second. A pedestrian steadily walking along a 100-foot (30-meter) length of department store can perceive about 68 features; a driver passing the same frontage at 30 mph (13 m/s or 44 ft/s) can perceive about six or seven features. Auto-scale buildings tend to be smooth and shallow, readable at a glance, simplified, presented outward, and with signage with bigger letters and fewer words. 

Oscar Niemeyer uses human scale for aesthetic effect, using structural purity and clarity of form. He creates an scale that even tho looks monumental from a distance, is really well adapted to the human measurement, so that it won't be overwhelming.

Here in this pictures we can see that there's a big scale and it makes peopple feeling like they're in a important place, however there's not a level of monumentalism that make the human scale be totally overcome by it. There's a sence of aesthetics in making this scale, that provides confortness and proportion to the buildings

Circulation

When it comes to circulation the subject of my project Oscar Niemeyer has very diverse ways to achieve it.

  In vertical circulation he uses a lot of ramps because he's really interest in making a recognition of the spaces and a ramp gives much more of a slow way to enjoy the amazing spaces that he creates.

  It's a much more sutil way to make the transtition of one place to another  

  In horizontal circulation  i believe he enphasizes in directness because he's circulation plan is amazing and it works great in any direction, it's also very adequate in size and the changes in the level are clearly expressed. The circulation of his buildings are not randomly for people to go walking wherever they want, he makes the building guide the people with elements of rotation, of continuos lines among others

 This last picture really wow me because of the use of the ramp in the centre that is kind of mixed with the others when you first see the space, but then you realize that is the centre of all the space and the element of rotation in the building, is a great example of how to make circulation sutil and a part of the building as well 

  In general i think niemeyer preffers horizontal circulation because it gives a longer tour of the buildings, in this last example we can see that is a vertical building but the main circulation point, the first floor, is a walk with complete horizontal circulation for a better apretiation of space.

Rhythm

  This fist photo is the Palácio da Alvorada. Here there's a clear rhythm made with the repetition of shapes, the white triangular shapes. Also there's a rhythm determinated for the repetition of lines from the wall

  This next photo is The International Cultural Centre. Here we can see the rhythm from the repetition of lines and shapes from the ornaments of the bridge and from the fences.

  This is The Cathedral of Brasília and the rhythm is given by the repetition of shapes from the white columns and it's also given by the repetition of lines from the glass that covers up the entire ceiling. 

  This one is from the Niemeyer Centre and it has rhythm in the repetition of its shapes, such as the curves on the ramp and on the ceiling, also it has mass repetition that we can see on the two curvy structures in the back.

Texture

The use of texture by Oscar Niemeyer is quite sutil, we can see it for example in this picture of the Iberapuera auditorium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He uses texture to difference the planes of the space, for instance here we have a soft texture for the sealing plane, then another one for the background wall, witch is made of soft wood, and the chairs and floor have a really soft textile material to make it confortable and nice for the people to sit and enjoy the show.

  This other picture it's from the Niemeyer Centre and it has a very cohesive texture, Niemeyer was one of the first architect to use reinforced concrete in his work, that's why this material it's all over his designs so the texture doesn't change much, at least not in the facade.

  This picture is also from the Niemeyer Centre and I love this angle of it. The first plane that we see is made completly out of glass and it's amazing how it reflects the sun and the clouds it gives it a really sutil texture even. Underneath is made out of reinforced concrete and it reflects the lake that's under the construction giving it a really nice soft texture even though is concrete. The column that supports all the construction it's decorated with yellow tiles and it's used to diference this from the rest of the building. 

 In this picture we can see a little closer the texture of the ramp, is kind of rusty but that's because people use it to run and walk thru so it needs to be a hard texture, unlike the one in the rest of the building that it has a smooth polished texture. 

Light

 Niemeyer always uses light the right way, to highligh the important and making everything look so stylish.

 This fist photo that I selected is the Palácio da Alvorada, witch is the official residence of the President of Brazil. It is located in the national capital of Brasilia, on a peninsula at the margins of Paranoa Lake. The building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and built between 1957 and 1958 in the modernist style. It has been the residence of every Brazilian president since Juscelino Kubitschek. The building is listed as a National Historic Heritage Site.  The use of light here is amazing, he used accent lighting to highligh the great concrete wall detail and he also used the lake to create a refexion of the light in the wall giving an effect of largeness and monumentalisim  

This next photo is a public space called The Niemeyer square, is located in the University of Informatics Science in Cuba. I think lighting in a public place is really difficult to achieve, obviously at night time, because it's really easy to feel overwhelmed or kind of scared at a public place at night a public place at night if it's dark and the light was the work of making it cozy and safe, also making it pop out of the city. I like this picture because it shows the great work of light, the way it's located in the trees and creates a symmetrical line, and also there's a central light that highlights the sculpture

Color

 His life and his architectural revolution is a real inspiration for me, also his use of colors, his coloring style is mainly minimalistic, because of the use of white but he always spice it up with a touch of other colors that create a great contrast with the white and with the context of the building, here are some examples. 

1. This great building is The Cathedral of Brasília (Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida) is the Roman Catholiccatedral serving Brasilia, Brazil, and serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Brasilia. It was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, and was completed and dedicated on May 31, 1970. The cathedral is ahyperboloid structure constructed from 16 concrete columns, weighing 90 tons each. The use of color here is awesome, how I said before he uses colors to contrast with the white and the environment, the color here it also gives the sealing a divine quality because the uses of blue is similar to the colors of the sky and heaven 

     2.  The same happens here in the Iberapuera auditorium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He uses the strong quality of red to make the entrance of the building pop up, to give it relevance as a contrast to the white straight lines.

     3. This proyect is the International Cultural Centre (popularly known as El Niemeyer), is a cultural centre of international significance located in Aviles, Asturias (Spain). The architect described the Niemeyer Centre as "An open square to the humankind, a place for education, culture and peace". It is possible to see the complex from different places, even from the air. Its size and white and yellow colours highlight its location in the landscape of the town. This proyect is huge and i love the fact that the most important parts of the construction are the only ones that are colored, it's a way of pointing out the important using color. Also i love the fact that even tho he always uses bright colors they don't look like 'too much' is really well balanced.

    This is another view of the Niemeyer Centre. In there I think the pink works perfecly and gives such a lovely contrast with the blue of the beach and all the environment, and it does such a great work pointing out the long entrance like that, it really creates a nice walk, a place where you can stay for a while instead of just being a 'passing through'

Biography

Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho born December 15, 1907, is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture. In the 1940s, '50s and '60s "he established himself as one of Modernism's greatest luminaries," while he “reshaped Brazil’s identity in the popular imagination and mesmerized architects around the globe."  During the 1950s while Brasilia was starting to develop, Oscar Niemeyer made incredible amounts of contributions to the country by designing many important buildings in Brasilia. He is a pioneer in exploring the formal possibilities of reinforced croncrete solely for their aesthetic impact. He is currently 104 years old and still working.

  Niemeyer is most famous for his use of abstract forms and curves that specifically characterize every one of his works; he didn’t stick to traditional straight lines, for he is not attracted to straight angles or lines but rather he is captured by ”free-flowing, sensual curves… on the body of the beloved woman.” He was able to design and build curved architecture through his revolutionary useage of concrete. His designs are daring: mixing innovation and courage, plastic freedom and invention. His buildings are often characterized by being spacious and exposed, mixing volumes and empty space to create unconventional patterns and often propped up by piloti. His work with concrete is described as elegant and harmonious. Oscar Niemeyer was able to connect the baroque style with modern architecture leading to a new form of architecture, which had never been built in Brazil before.