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Building Blocks of Architecture and Mathematics

Kim Williams examines the sometimes very sophisticated use of fundamental mathematical elements—curves, grids, simple polygons and polyhedra—in ancient and contemporary architecture

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17 views

Building Blocks of Architecture and Mathematics

Kim Williams examines the sometimes very sophisticated use of fundamental mathematical elements—curves, grids, simple polygons and polyhedra—in ancient and contemporary architecture

Uploaded by

kim.williams01
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Nexus Network Journal (2021) 23:561–563

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-021-00562-z

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

The Building Blocks of Architecture and Mathematics

Kim Williams1

Published online: 22 July 2021


© Kim Williams Books, Turin 2021

Abstract
Editor-in-Chief Kim Williams examines the sometimes very sophisticated use
of fundamental mathematical elements—curves, grids, simple polygons and
polyhedra—in ancient and contemporary architecture and introduces the articles in
Nexus Network Journal vol. 23 no. 3 (2021).

It is sometimes surprising that fundamental mathematical elements such as curves,


grids, simple polygons and polyhedra can perform so many different functions in the
world of architecture. The papers in this issue of the Nexus Network Journal feature
sophisticated uses of these elements in architecture and urban planning, both ancient
and modern.
In “Surfa​ce Discr​etisa​tion with Recti​fying​ Strip​s on Geode​sics”, Andrés Martín-
Pastor and Francisco González-Quintial present a graphic model to discretize
surfaces using developable straight strips to cover a surface tangentially, optimizing
material consumption and offering a wide range of applications. Their research is
based on the concept of a “rectifying surface”, a special developable surface that
rests on any curve.
Maja Petrović, Branko Malešević and Radovan Štulić, in “Weber​ian Focal-​
Direc​toria​l Curves:​ Geome​tric Genes​is and Form Varia​tion”, present a discussion
of new plane curves (multi-directorial curves as counterpart to multi-focal curves
and focal-directorial curves as curves of a transitory type) through their geometric
genesis and their form variation. The paper illustrates how the properties of the
curves allow them to be used as patterns for designing more complex forms as well
as for plane tiling.
In 1968 Andre Barre and Albert Flocon depicted a square room from its interior
by means of a 360° total perspective. In “The 360° Curvi​linea​r Persp​ective:​ A Hybri​d
Hyper​cubic​Angul​ar Space​Grid Based​on the 1968 Barre​and Floco​n propo​sal”
Julián Santoyo and Miguel A. Santoyo return to that proposal to reveal how this
specific case of a pseudo-spherical projection for a hypercube was achieved by a

* Kim Williams
[email protected]
1
Kim Williams Books, Corso Regina Margherita, 72, 10153 Turin, Italy

Vol.:(0123456789)
562 K. Williams

hybrid using ellipse curves in one of the spatial directions and a different spherical
projection in the other direction. Their results pave the way to possible new
interpretations of the built environment.
In this issue’s Geometer’s Angle column, Tuğrul Yazar presents “Compa​ss
Const​ructi​on of Bézier Curve​s and B-​Splin​es”, in which constructions aim to
translate the B-Spline definition of Paul de Casteljau into the modified versions
of compass-only constructions explained by Aleksandr Kostovskii. Yazar sees his
research as providing a basic stepping stone for a broader and unifying understanding
of distinct architectural geometries.
Patterns of simple elements into more complex arrangements can create systems
that are both strong and flexible.
Francesca Lecci, Cecilia Mazzoli, Cristiana Bartolomei and Riccardo Gulli,
in “Desig​n of Flat Vault​s with Topol​ogica​l Inter​locki​ng Solids” investigate the
principles that regulate complex stereotomic constructions as a starting point for
the design of a new two-dimensional floor structure based on the principles of
topological interlocking materials, that is, based on structures that use polyhedra as
repeated modules to form structurally stable planes.
Dario Parigi presents “The Parig​i Mecha​nism:​ Prope​rties​ and Appli​catio​n of
a Kinet​ic Recip​rocal​ Syste​m (KRS)​ Adapt​ive Façade”, a novel mechanism which
he invented, possessing one degree of freedom and described by means of the
kinetic reciprocal system (KRS) algorithm. The mechanism consists of an infinitely
extendable hexagonal network of elements connected with pin-slot joints, and lends
itself well to kinetic architecture, that is, buildings or building components that have
variable location or mobility and/or variable geometry or movement.
In addition to their use as building forms, simple elements, such as lines forming
axes or grids, can also underline ideological and symbolic intents.
Such symbolic notions were certainly exploited by ancient architects, as Norma
Camilla Baratta and Giulio Magli show in “The Role of Astro​nomy and Feng Shui
in the Plann​ing of Ming Beiji​ng”. Thanks to the technologies of satellite imagery
and palaeomagnetic data analysis, they were able to determine the relationship
of symbolic aspects of the planning of the city, astronomical alignments and the
doctrine of feng shui. Their research shows that orientations of the axes of the
“cosmic” temples and of the Forbidden City were most likely magnetic, while
astronomy was used in topographical connections between the temples and in the
plan of the Forbidden City itself.
Rizal Muslimin, in “Cultural Computation on the Traveling Hamlet: Ciptarasa
and Ciptagelar”, describes a development pattern analysis of two traditional
villages, one of which was the predecessor of the other. He used computer modelling
to explain how the formal and informal cultural elements intermingle and shape
the settlement pattern. Interpreting rules from the earlier capital and using them
to identify a pattern in the current capital allows him to synthesize the rules and
demonstrate rule iteration across scales, indicating a dynamic relationship between
the settlement and its cosmology.
Such cosmic connections seem to be lost in architecture today, but there are still
those who search for a way to continue its relevance. This theme is developed in
“Cosmo​genic​ Patte​rn Langu​age:​ Towar​d an Archi​tectu​ral Langu​age Based​ on the
The Building Blocks of Architecture and Mathematics 563

Cosmo​genic​ Patte​rns of Pre-​Moder​nism” by Diana Allam, Yasmine S. Hegazi,


Mohamed Atef Abo-Ashour and Mahmoud Fathi Elalfi, who present the framework
for a contemporary architectural language that uses the notion of cosmogenic
architecture. This notion suggests that architecture might be related to key elements
of the sky and designed according to geometric patterns captured from the forms
that abstract the cosmic order.
José Vela Castillo and Pedro García Martínez discovered that military bases built
during the Cold War by the United States at various points around the globe share
a common design project which implements an underlying grid-like system in the
organization of their masterplans. In “The Use of Ortho​gonal​Grids​in the Desig​n of
US Milit​ary Bases​in Spain” they argue that this grid-like system was conceived as a
sophisticated and precise graphic tool able to facilitate the design, construction, and
maintenance of the bases, but also to further an ideological project.
Finally, in all applications of mathematical and cosmological notions to
architecture there is an underlying push–pull between order and complexity: too
much order can make our built environment boring and unchallenging; too much
complexity can lead to a sense of chaos and lack of meaning. Kahina Meddahi and
Kenza Boussora address this in “Aesth​etic Measu​res Of Algie​rs’ Colon​ial Facad​es”,
in which Birkhoff’s aesthetic measure based on order and complexity was applied to
assess a group of facades. The aim is to ultimately be able to elaborate a guideline
of design principles for the preservation of both buildings and their specific context.
As this issue is being prepared, preparations are also underway for the Nexus
20/21 conference on architecture and mathematics, which will take place in an
online format from 26 to 29 July 2021. The name “Nexus 20/21” reflects the fact that
the 2020 conference was postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Future issues of the NNJ will bring readers the very best of the many presentations
at the conference.

Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional affiliations.

Kim Williams received her degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Texas in Austin. She
became interested in mathematics and architecture while writing Italian Pavements: Patterns in Space
(Anchorage Press, 1997) about the role of decorated pavements in the history of Italian architecture,
and it has been her field of research ever since. She is the founder and director of the international,
interdisciplinary conference series “Nexus: Relationships Between Architecture and Mathematics”, and
is the founder and co-editor-in-chief (with Michael Ostwald) of the Nexus Network Journal. She is the
author of Daniele Barbaro’s Vitruvius of 1567 (Birkhäuser, 2019). Her forthcoming book, with Cosimo
Montelone, is Daniele Barbaro’s Perspective of 1568 (Birkhäuser, 2021).

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