Modularity
Modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined. The meaning of the word, however, can vary somewhat by context:
In construction, modules are a bundle of redundant project components that are produced en-mass prior to installation.
In ecology, modularity is considered a key factor – along with diversity and feedback – in supporting resilience.
In industrial design, modularity refers to an engineering technique that builds larger systems by combining smaller subsystems.
In contemporary art and architecture, modularity can refer to the construction of an object by joining together standardized units to form larger compositions, and/or to the use of a module as a standardized unit of measurement and proportion.
The use of modules in the fine arts has a long pedigree among diverse cultures. In the classical architecture of Greco-Roman antiquity, the module was utilized as a standardized unit of measurement for proportioning the elements of a building. Typically the module was established as one-half the diameter of the lower shaft of a classical column; all the other components in the syntax of the classical system were expressed as a fraction or multiple of that module. In traditional Japanese construction, room sizes were often determined by combinations of standard rice mats calledtatami; the standard dimension of a mat was around 3 feet by 6 feet, which approximate the overall proportions of a reclining human figure. The module thus becomes not only a proportional device for use with three-dimensional vertical elements but a two-dimensional planning tool as well.
Modularity as a means of measurement is intrinsic to certain types of building; for example, brick construction is by its nature modular insofar as the fixed dimensions of a brick necessarily yield dimensions that are multiples of the original unit. Attaching bricks to one another to form walls and surfaces also reflects a second definition of modularity:
In construction, modules are a bundle of redundant project components that are produced en-mass prior to installation.
In ecology, modularity is considered a key factor – along with diversity and feedback – in supporting resilience.
In industrial design, modularity refers to an engineering technique that builds larger systems by combining smaller subsystems.
In contemporary art and architecture, modularity can refer to the construction of an object by joining together standardized units to form larger compositions, and/or to the use of a module as a standardized unit of measurement and proportion.
The use of modules in the fine arts has a long pedigree among diverse cultures. In the classical architecture of Greco-Roman antiquity, the module was utilized as a standardized unit of measurement for proportioning the elements of a building. Typically the module was established as one-half the diameter of the lower shaft of a classical column; all the other components in the syntax of the classical system were expressed as a fraction or multiple of that module. In traditional Japanese construction, room sizes were often determined by combinations of standard rice mats calledtatami; the standard dimension of a mat was around 3 feet by 6 feet, which approximate the overall proportions of a reclining human figure. The module thus becomes not only a proportional device for use with three-dimensional vertical elements but a two-dimensional planning tool as well.
Modularity as a means of measurement is intrinsic to certain types of building; for example, brick construction is by its nature modular insofar as the fixed dimensions of a brick necessarily yield dimensions that are multiples of the original unit. Attaching bricks to one another to form walls and surfaces also reflects a second definition of modularity: