Scale and Scale(ar)

A study on Scale in relation to Scalar

‘Scale’ has always been associated as an instrument of measuring, however contemporary theorists have begun to reinterpret ‘scale’ in a new frame. By dismissing its common association with size, the amalgamation of architecture and urbanism has challenged the fixed view of ‘scale’.

According to contemporary philosopher Manuel De Landa, the intricacy of multiple scales in relation to the changing condition of relationships, in that a society is not a single organism, but elements that rely on working together to provide coherence as a whole. However, De Landa extends this idea to the “structuralist conceptions of society” in that one element does not exist independently when set apart from their relations.

Much of Manuel De Landa’s work resembles the investigations of French philosopher Gilles Deleuze on the notion of assemblages as multiple methodologies. In Deleuze’s A Thousand Plateaus, Deleuze states that assemblages are heterogeneous factors that form connections and infers that the assemblage theory consists of, but is not limited to, 7 principal methodologies. The first characteristic is that larger bodies are comprised of smaller systems. These bodies are all independent factors with individual expressions, characteristics and dynamics. Spatial scale is distinctive, and the relationships formed are indistinct because of the dynamics and complexity of the converging mechanisms.