Editing Modulor (section)

==History==
Le Corbusier developed the Modulor in the long tradition of [[Vitruvius]], [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo da Vinci's]] [[Vitruvian Man]], the work of [[Leon Battista Alberti]], and other attempts to discover mathematical proportions in the human body and then to use that knowledge to improve both the appearance and function of [[architecture]].{{sfnp|Ostwald|2001|p=146}} The system is inspired by but does not exactly correspond to [[anthropometry|human measurements]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=ITV Visual History of the Twentieth Century |publisher=[[Carlton Books]] |year=1999 |isbn=1-85868-688-1 |editor-last=Burrows |editor-first=Terry |location=London |page=318 |editor-last2=Larter |editor-first2=Sarah |editor-last3=Anderson |editor-first3=Janice}}</ref> and it also draws inspiration from the double unit,{{Further explanation needed|reason=What is this measurement?|date=October 2023}} the [[Fibonacci numbers]], and the [[golden ratio]]. Le Corbusier described it as a "range of harmonious measurements to suit the human scale, universally applicable to architecture and to mechanical things".

With the Modulor, Le Corbusier sought to introduce a scale of visual measures that would unite two virtually incompatible systems: the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Foot (length)|foot]] and [[inch]] and the international [[metric system]].{{sfnp|Le Corbusier|2004|p=17}} Whilst he was intrigued by ancient civilisations who used measuring systems linked to the human body: elbow ([[cubit]]), finger ([[Digit (length)|digit]]), thumb (inch) etc., he was troubled by the [[metre]] as a measure that was a forty-millionth part of the meridian of the earth.{{sfnp|Le Corbusier|2004|p=20}}

In 1943, in response to the French National Organisation for Standardisation's ([[AFNOR]]) requirement for standardising all the objects involved in the construction process, Le Corbusier asked an apprentice to consider a scale based upon a man with his arm raised to 2.20&nbsp;m in height.{{sfnp|Le Corbusier|2004|p=36}} The result, in August 1943 was the first graphical representation of the derivation of the scale. This was refined after a visit to the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences in Sorbonne on 7 February 1945 which resulted in the inclusion of a golden section into the representation.{{sfnp|Le Corbusier|2004|p=43}}

Whilst initially the Modulor Man's height was based on a French man's height of {{convert|1.75|m|ftin}} it was changed to 1.83&nbsp;m in 1946 because "in English detective novels, the good-looking men, such as policemen, are always six feet tall!".{{sfnp|Le Corbusier|2004|p=56}} The dimensions were refined to give round numbers and the overall height of the raised arm was set at 2.262&nbsp;m.

Of the works leading to the creation of the Modulor, Robin Evans notes that the female body "was only belatedly considered and rejected as a source of proportional harmony".{{sfnp|Ostwald|2001|p=146}}