 | |  |
 | |  |
ROSENHAUS DESIGN GROUP
DYNAMIC SYMMETRY:
THE CURE FOR THE COMMON DESIGN
DO YOU KNOW what a pineapple, the
space shuttle and your finger have in
common? They all have proportions
based on the FIBONACCI SEQUENCE:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144...
etc., whereby adding consecutive
numbers equals the third, and dividing
adjacent numbers produces the 62%
GOLDEN RATIO. In a beautiful
PINEAPPLE, counting the seedpods in
a clockwise direction, then counter-
clockwise, obtains differing amounts -
usually 11 and 17, consistent with the
Golden Mean. The SHUTTLE'S wing-
span to length ratio is nearly ‘Golden’.
Measure your finger, the first digit is 2/3
of the second digit; adding them
together equals the third digit (2+3=5),
which are Fibonacci numbers.
LEONARDO DA VINCI’S drawing of a
man outstretched within a circle is the
familiar icon. In Michelangelo's 'DAVID',
the floor to navel distance is 62% of his
height. The enduring PARTHENON'S
columns are also 62% of the temple’s
height. A survey taken 130 years ago
compared rectangular shapes, with the
GOLDEN RECTANGLE width being
62% of its length preferred by 75% of
the people. Within the Golden
Proportion is a square with another
Golden Rectangle turned the opposite
direction. AUDREY HEPBURN'S beauty
is the square delineated by the width of
her mouth to the bottom of her eye.
THE CURE FOR THE COMMON DESIGN
DO YOU KNOW what a pineapple, the
space shuttle and your finger have in
common? They all have proportions
based on the FIBONACCI SEQUENCE:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144...
etc., whereby adding consecutive
numbers equals the third, and dividing
adjacent numbers produces the 62%
GOLDEN RATIO. In a beautiful
PINEAPPLE, counting the seedpods in
a clockwise direction, then counter-
clockwise, obtains differing amounts -
usually 11 and 17, consistent with the
Golden Mean. The SHUTTLE'S wing-
span to length ratio is nearly ‘Golden’.
Measure your finger, the first digit is 2/3
of the second digit; adding them
together equals the third digit (2+3=5),
which are Fibonacci numbers.
LEONARDO DA VINCI’S drawing of a
man outstretched within a circle is the
familiar icon. In Michelangelo's 'DAVID',
the floor to navel distance is 62% of his
height. The enduring PARTHENON'S
columns are also 62% of the temple’s
height. A survey taken 130 years ago
compared rectangular shapes, with the
GOLDEN RECTANGLE width being
62% of its length preferred by 75% of
the people. Within the Golden
Proportion is a square with another
Golden Rectangle turned the opposite
direction. AUDREY HEPBURN'S beauty
is the square delineated by the width of
her mouth to the bottom of her eye.
 | |  |
 | |  |
 | |  |
THE ORIGINAL DEFINITION of symmetry was the
balance of harmony and proportion based on
weight or mass. A ballerina in the arabesque
position is balanced at the center of gravity of the
sacrum, upheld by the tip of her toe and one
outstretched leg; she moves and the beauty of that
moment is gone. The modern definition has
regressed into the idea of axial (or mirror)
symmetry - a vertical line with two items
equidistant from each side. This works with small
objects or only minimal time to understand the
design. On a large scale it is monotonous.
Dynamic Symmetry's greatest values produce
equilibrium with the vitality and movement of a see-
saw.
RHYTHM is created by contrasts. If all musical
notes are the same, we become bored and cease
listening. Unity does not mean uniformity as in
families with differing personalities. Cabinets in a
row, like soldiers, are static. Going from point A to
point B, why see the same thing? Symmetry
cannot be obvious.
WE LOOK for clues to make order out of chaos.
Painters JAN VERMEER and GEORGES SEURAT
skillfully position precisely sized objects around
the canvas to direct the scene. The Cathedral of
NOTRE DAME and TAJ MAHAL align key
architectural elements similar to stars in a
constellation.
STONEHENGE not only clocks the seasons, it is
arranged using Classical Proportion. The
ultimate presence of DYNAMIC SYMMETRY is the
fascinating spiral of the SEASHELL, which also
emulates the rotation of the GALAXIES in the
universe. Conceptualizing a design for the Earth
and beyond is easiest following just one plan from
microscopic to telescopic. With the harmonious
relationship of patterns so prevalent, there can be
no doubt, nature inspires the “geometry of art".
balance of harmony and proportion based on
weight or mass. A ballerina in the arabesque
position is balanced at the center of gravity of the
sacrum, upheld by the tip of her toe and one
outstretched leg; she moves and the beauty of that
moment is gone. The modern definition has
regressed into the idea of axial (or mirror)
symmetry - a vertical line with two items
equidistant from each side. This works with small
objects or only minimal time to understand the
design. On a large scale it is monotonous.
Dynamic Symmetry's greatest values produce
equilibrium with the vitality and movement of a see-
saw.
RHYTHM is created by contrasts. If all musical
notes are the same, we become bored and cease
listening. Unity does not mean uniformity as in
families with differing personalities. Cabinets in a
row, like soldiers, are static. Going from point A to
point B, why see the same thing? Symmetry
cannot be obvious.
WE LOOK for clues to make order out of chaos.
Painters JAN VERMEER and GEORGES SEURAT
skillfully position precisely sized objects around
the canvas to direct the scene. The Cathedral of
NOTRE DAME and TAJ MAHAL align key
architectural elements similar to stars in a
constellation.
STONEHENGE not only clocks the seasons, it is
arranged using Classical Proportion. The
ultimate presence of DYNAMIC SYMMETRY is the
fascinating spiral of the SEASHELL, which also
emulates the rotation of the GALAXIES in the
universe. Conceptualizing a design for the Earth
and beyond is easiest following just one plan from
microscopic to telescopic. With the harmonious
relationship of patterns so prevalent, there can be
no doubt, nature inspires the “geometry of art".