Golden Number : Golden Rectangle

The first thing you have to learn about the golden number is that it's just a story of proportion. Thus, it's possible to find it in many fields, like architecture. In fact, architectures possess the Golden Number when they possess geometrical shapes which have the golden ratio, like a rectangle or a triangle. Here, we talk about rectangles.

The Parthenon

  The Parthenon is an emblematic construction, built during the peak of the Greek civilization, during the Antiquity (from 447 BC to 438 BC). It was a dedicate to the goddess Athena, who is considered like their patron deity (the god who protect them). The Parthenon was considered like one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.

 It has the special feature to possess the golden number : it contains "golden rectangles". But what is a golden rectangle ?

The golden rectangle

• Definition :

A golden rectangle is a figure which has its length and its width proportional to a rectangle which have a length equals 1 and a width equals :

• How to build this ? 

First, you have to build a square ABCD with a side equals 1.

Place I such as it's the middle point of [AD].

Next, trace a circle with centre I and radius [BI]. F is the intersection point between this circle and the line (AD). With the Pythagorean theorem, we can say that [BI] is equal to the square root of 5 divided by 2.

Thus, we have :

Place E, the intersection point between (BC) and the perpendicular to (AB) passing by F. The golden rectangle is ABEF.

In the Parthenon, we can find a lot of golden rectangle, as you can see here :

There is an other construction, a modern one, which applies the principle of the golden rectangle : the United Nations Headquarters, in New York. It possess principal organs of the United Nations, like the General Assembly and the Security Council.
Indeed, it's composed of 3 golden rectangles.

It was built from 1948 to 1952, under the direction of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. He was very interested in the golden number. In his theory of the Modulor (1943), which derive its name from the contraction of "Module" and "nombre d'or", he integrates the notion of harmonic measurement in the human scale, which is applicable in architecture. The harmony of measurement pass through the use of the golden number.

•  Study about the "aestheticism" of the golden rectangle

A study was done. On a page, students drew 6 rectangles and one of them was the golden rectangle. They questioned people in the street, and asked them which rectangle they found more aesthetic. Most of them chose the golden rectangle. It shows that the golden rectangle has got perfect proportions for the eyes.