Le Corbusier (1887-1965)

Le Corbusier developed 
the so-called "Modulor", 
a system of measurements 
based on the relation of
the golden section and 
the proportions of the human
body of the average size of 
1.83m and 1.75m.

He applied He applied the system in his works, especially in
the Unités d'habitation. 
The system continues to have an effect until the present day as an effort to
establish a human measure in architecture.
The measurements used in traditional architectures were almost always derived from the human body.
For aesthetic, magical or practical reasons the use of fingers, hands and limbs as measurement units was common in all societies before developments in science led to the introduction of a common metric system in the 19th century