| Research Abstract |
I traced the tradition of the optical correction through Vitruvius in the Ancient age, Alberti, Palladio and Serho in the Renaissance, and the French Academy of Architecture in the 17th and 18th century. According to this theory, the more the angle of
elevation of an upper part of a building is big, the more that part must be large. This theory is based upon the assumption that one sees buildings from a certain distance. But any architect have not mentioned this certain distance. In this research, I calculated this distance from the numbers with which the architects described the theory. In case of Vitruvius, it is about 60 feet. The Renaissance architects followed this number approximately. In case of the Academy, besides 60 feet, the measure of 10 feet was presumed for the optical experience in the interior space.
Secondly I computed the representative scale of the urban and architectural scale of each age.In the Ancient times, the scale of 60 feet was found repeatedly in the colonnaded street, basilica's interior space and the Agora and Forum space. In French 17th and 18th centuries, 60 feet is found in the nave spaces of the churches and the squares, but the scale of 22-24 feet, the double of 10 feet, is always seen in the residence spaces. It means that the viewpoint is set just in the center of the room.
This study on the Optical Correction in the Ancient, Renaissance and Modem times reveals the fact that this theory was not always applied, but that the theory was founded on the universal space scale which existed in the reality. So the significance of this theory lies in that the lived visual reality can be revealed through it.
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