‘The regulating Line is a guarantee against willfulness. It brings satisfaction to the understanding’ The author expresses his views on how it’s not a recipe but a part of architectural creation. Primitive architecture is a concept that comes from the relationship of human being and the natural environment creating a piece of architecture. The author elaborates on how people used to create shelters for God in form of temples and huts and how they made palisade: which is a rectangle with equal angles to protect the hut. Just as in Temple of Luxor. At that moment it was very difficult to obtain solidity and utility but the only way through this was to adapt the concept of measurements and that’s when Le Corbusier introduced unit of measurements to regulate his work. In order to take measurements, he used his elbow, foot, pace and fingers which later created units that regulated his work, scale and proportion. The author also talks about the fact that human eye can measure and recognize by keeping axes, circles and right angles in mind. Harmony is created by human scale that now we are comfortable using. He described harmony as a feeling of creating something. Le Corbusier also writes about rhythms which are not roots of human activities. A regulating Line is not what we can call a basic of construction and the human satisfaction, but it can lead to pursuit of harmonious relations. Regulating lines are also related to mathematics in a way that it reassures perception.
It also plays a very vital role in the geometrical construction of work while creating buildings fixing their fundamental characters. ‘Regulating Lines have served to make very beautiful things and which are the very reason why these things are beautiful’ The article quotes Façade of Arsenal of the Piraeus as an example of being regulated by proportion whereas the great Achaemenian cupolas is the subtle conclusions of geometry because it was formed by application of principles developing effects from portico to the summit vault. The author mentions works of some historic figures like Michelangelo to redefine regulating line as it fixes and satisfies ones work. It’s a way of stabilization of geometry.
Regulating line does not limit work or ideas but a tool to set basics of something.
To conclude I’d like to mention that throughout this article the author is trying to redefine regulating lines by stating them as the basics of construction as they are being used since the beginning of architectural era. Solidity, utility and measurement play and important role in architectural creations as it help us fix and satisfy human eye by geometrical construction. He also adapted a way to regulate his work. Le Corbusier also talks about that rhythm was discovered by knowing the distance between certain objects and also how geometry has a strong relationship with regulating lines in a way that it stabilizes the work. He also put forwards the idea of primitive architecture which is constructed on the relationship between humans and nature in a way it’s beneficial for both.