Liquid scale. From detail to territory as a learning tool

Abstract

The two-dimensional, precise and rigorous representation of a concrete physical reality goes through establishing, as a founding act, a scale on which to structure the system of spatial references of a map or a plan. In disciplinary areas such as architecture or urban planning, the daily use of this tool requires a mastery of its qualities that, traditionally, seemed consolidated around agreed scales as optimal for the representation of the constructive detail, the architectural object, the figure of the city or the vast territory. However, the appearance of new assisted drawing technologies and, above all, the growing documentary consultation through the screen have led to an obvious disruption in learning methods. Thus, this research explores, from the classroom and during a continuous period of fifteen years, the cognitive and didactic potentials associated with the scale as a tool for representation, comparison and learning.