Application of the module and construction principles in the traditional architecture of northern Greece Aineias OIKONOMOU 1,2,3 , Aikaterini DIMITSANTOU-KREMEZI 1 , Nikolaos LIANOS 2 1 National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture, Section of Architectural Design, Laboratory of Architectural Form and Orders 42, Patision Street, GR-106 82 Athens 2 Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Architecture, Section of Architectural Design and Construction, Laboratory of Theory of Forms New Building of Central Library, GR-671 00 Xanthi 3 University of Patras, Department of Architecture, Section of Building Technology University Campus, GR-265 00 Rion, Patras e-mail: aineias4@yahoo.com Abstract The paper presents the analysis of the design and construction of the traditional houses in northern Greece and also, the correlation with the use of the metric system of the architect’s cubit (mimar arşin) and the existence of architectural tracing and proportions. The significance of the present study, in relation to previous ones that refer to the tracing of traditional structures, is the detection of certain metric models, which were widely applied in the urban centres of northern Greece during the 19 th century. The analysis is based on the application of the functional and constructional module on plans and facades of houses, in order to investigate its influence on the standardisation of the design of the spaces and their elements, as well as of the construction. The investigation of the constructional rationale and the analysis of the structural system, which is characterised by the use of wooden posts in the lightweight walls, are imperative because the standardisation of the construction allowed the easy application of designed models by the master builders with the use of basic geometric knowledge. From the above-mentioned investigation, the design principles that characterise the traditional houses in the Ottoman Empire are derived, as well as the proportions of their parts. Furthermore, similarities and differences that exist between the various urban centres of northern Greece are pointed out. Another finding of the research involves the way in which the structural grid is applied to the design of the façades and to the placement of the structural elements and the openings of the timber-frame construction. As a result, conclusions are drawn concerning the role and the effect of the measuring system and the various metric models on the constructional rationale and on the development of the form of the traditional house. Keywords Traditional architecture, northern Greece, construction, module, architect’s cubit 1. Introduction The tracing and the proportions, which define the structure and the form of buildings from early on until today, have been the object of many previous studies. For the architecture of the Ottoman period and specifically in the area of the Balkan Peninsula, the studies that are related to this paper are summarised below.