Mathematics and Architecture: Importance of Geometry: December 2014

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Mathematics and Architecture: Importance of Geometry

Conference Paper · December 2014

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NCAICT: National Conference on Advances in Information and Communication Technology TEQIP-II/EE/AICMT-5

Mathematics and Architecture: Importance of Geometry


Ashish Choudhary1, Nitesh Dogne2, Shubhanshu Maheshwari3
choudharyashish0904@gmail.com1, Nitesh.arch@gmail.com2, Shubhanshu.2201@gmail.com3

Students1, 2, Department of Architecture, Student2, Department of Mech. Engg.

Madhav Institute of Technology and Science, Gwalior 474005

Abstract: Intentionally or unintentionally, from ages, architects, builders and construction experts have used mathematics
as a very basic yet important tool for the soulful purpose of design, execution and finalization of building projects. In the
history, architects were mathematicians and also some mathematicians were architect too. Vitruvius was a very well-known
architect as well as famous mathematician. Mathematical readings of Pythagoras were later used in building proportions.
Well known worker and user of golden ratio Leonardo Da Vinci along with many achievements was an architect too. The
approach of this research paper is to come up with findings on importance of mathematics in architecture, as in geometry,
from very important site analysis to final design of elevation or façade. Aim of the whole research is to come up with
mathematical functions related to mensuration of building construction and Architectural Engineering. This paper is an
initial part of the same research.

Keywords: Geometry, Form order and Function , Mensuration, Golden Section, Pythagoras Studies, Patterns, History of
Architecture.

Introduction: The fundamental study of forms, shapes processes through several examples of contemporary
and spaces, and their order along with their geometry architecture and along with them examples from history
contributes to the process of composition and designing of architecture.
of any element of architecture. Composition in History of use of Geometry in Architecture: Men in
architecture begins with space developing and their ancient time built to accommodate his spatial needs.
relations. Geometry and its study make an important Royal men used buildings as a royalty. Along with
input to this process by dealing with studies of geometric ornamental highlights their dwellings possessed a natural
figures, shapes and forms as elements and at the same geometry- based in part on the structural characteristics
place proportions, differences, angles positions and of the materials that we available in appropriate
transformations as relations between them. The diameter. As an example, we take the Sumer Reed house
foundation of composition is built by structures. The word around 4000 B.C. The strong tall reeds of Euphrates delta
is derived from the Latin idea “structura” which means to were used as standard structural elements. These were
associate together in order. Mathematics and crucially bunched into bundles and bent to form either a circular
geometry, can be seen as a specific study of structures by or pointed arch. Reed matting was used as filler and the
considering collective sets of architectural elements and whole house was skinned with mud. House in its
their relations as well as operations. This concept for an simplicity with geometric elements contains all the
example was the background for an innovative approach structural elements of the Romanesque or Gothic
to the composition of Mr. Richard Buckminster Fuller. cathedral styles. The pyramids of Egypt are the best
Geometry can be stated as the science to describe example of Egyptians’ Understanding of Geometry.
structures and spaces. Max Bill in his artwork plays with Pyramids reflect their attempt to model their human
geometric structures as method, for example in his world on “cosmic order” to symbolize their stability.
variations of a single theme of project, the process of Geometry there was strongly related to religion and
transformation from triangle to octagon was the final astronomy. The whole architecture of that time was
product and worked well. based on “occult geometry system”. This was a system
Max Bill was one of great artists who gave a thought on of measurements, dimensions and proportion, which
the relationship between art and structure. Through were considers as sacred and divine by religious leaders.
history of geometry and that of architecture there were In the Greek Period the tapering of columns and
developed some rules and standards based on geometry manifestation of proportion and visual effects of building
which formed the very basic concepts for architectural according to the dimension of columns of different order
composition. In the following paper we will analyse the was the main concept of building design. The geometrical
role of geometry in the sequential architectural design and technical achievements of Gothic Period were in
NCAICT: National Conference on Advances in Information and Communication Technology TEQIP-II/EE/AICMT-5

brief, Differentiating between bearing columns and non- Fractal Geometry:


bearing walls, utilizing the pointed arch, use of vault- The mathematical history of fractals began with
supporting ribs, development of flying buttresses, large mathematician Karl Weierstrass in 1872 who introduced
use of glass and tracery in various forms and shapes. The a Weierstrass function which is continuous everywhere
13th century mason did not solve his structural problems but differentiable nowhere. In 1904 Helge von Koch
with software and analysis as a modern engineer would, refined the definition of the Weierstrass function and
but by very skilful and insightful trial-and-error, aided by gave a more geometric definition of a similar function,
experience and geometric rules of design. The design which is now called the Koch snowflake. In 1915, Waclaw
depended more on getting the shape and then calculate Sielpinski constructed self-similar patterns and the
the magnitude of forces acting on it. In the same way functions that generate them. Georg Cantor also gave an
Renaissance Period also seen its own use of geometry in example of a self-similar fractal. In the late 19th and early
design of buildings. That was the period of start of 20th, fractals were put further by Henri Poincare, Felix
architectural and engineering drawings. The development Klein, Pierre Fatou and Gaston Julia. In 1975, Mandelbrot
of projective geometry (orthographic and perspective) brought these work together and named it 'fractal'.
was an event that was of both architectural and Fractals can be constructed through limits of iterative
geometrical importance. On the other hand the Modern schemes involving generators of iterative functions on
idea of building Design focused on the functionality of metric spaces Iterated Function System (IFS) is the most
building using materials like concrete, steel and glass and common, general and powerful mathematical tool that
is reflected on building of period of Modernism and even can be used to generate fractals. The iteration procedure
after, which makes smart use of geometry and shape to must converge to get the fractal set. Therefore, the
get more and more from any piece of land without iterated functions are limited to strict contractions with
wasting any inch square. the Banach fixed-point property. Cantor set, Sierpinski
Triangle, Menger sponge, Dragon curve, Space filling
Concepts of Architectural Geometry: curve, Mandelbrot set are some of best examples of
Golden Section fractal geometry.
Such a fundamental principle of harmony derived from
nature, applied in art, architecture and music can be seen
in the golden section. The idea of the golden section
shows the coherence of composition and geometry. This
idea steps long time through history of architecture.
Hippasos of Metapont (450 B.C.) found it in his research
about the pentagon and the relation of its edge length
and the diagonal. Euclid (325-270 B.C.) was the first who
described the golden section precisely also as a Figure 2Examples of Fractal Progression.
continuous division. In the following time golden section
was seen as the ideal proportion and the epitome of Moreover, IFS provides a connection between fractals
aesthetics and harmony. Especially in the renaissance, and natural images. It is also an important tool for
harmonic proportions were based on the geometric investigating fractal sets. In the following, an introduction
relations according the golden section in art, architecture to some basic geometry of fractal sets will be approached
as well as in music. Filippo Brunelleschi built Santa Maria from an IFS perspective. In a simple case, IFS acts on a
del Fiore in Florence 1296 based on the golden section segment to generate contracted copies of the segment
and the Fibonacci Numbers. Golden Rectangle, Golden which can be arranged in a plane based on certain rules.
Triangle, Golden Spiral, Penrose Tiling, Pentagon and
Pentagram are some kind of Golden geometry based on
golden ratio.

Figure 3 an Example of Cantor's Set

Figure 1 Golden Ratio or Golden Section Ratio


NCAICT: National Conference on Advances in Information and Communication Technology TEQIP-II/EE/AICMT-5

Figure 5 Rectangular and Pile Foundation

Geometry for Performance:


Figure 4 Fractal Application in Temple Design Geometric application for performance in architecture
can be simply understood as shape selection for
maximum output. Like dome, or hemispherical roof have
Importance of Geometry in Architecture. numbers of advantages over flat roof as it gives column
Geometric and architectural space concepts: less space as the load of roof is directly transferred to the
The architectural space is based on a geometric space rim of hemisphere and also the hemispheric space being
concept. Especially in the creation process architecture is useless can hold the hot air with stack effect and can
thought in relation to a geometric space. Robin Evans gradually can be disposed from the roof. And on other
analyses the relationship between geometry and side conical roof are generally used to cover tower like
architecture: “The first place anyone looks to find the structures and pitched of triangular prism like roof is used
geometry in architecture is in the shape of buildings, then when run off of water and snow is main concern.
perhaps the shape of the drawings of the buildings. These
are the locations where geometry has been, on the
whole, stolid and dormant. But geometry has been active
in the space between and the space at either end.”
According Evans, in history of architecture you find this
misunderstanding of the role of geometry. In his historical
study he refers to the relations between Gaspard
Monge’s Descriptive Geometry and Jean-Nicolas Louis
Durand’s theory of architecture. Durand taught Figure 6 Pitched Roof and Domed Roof Coverings
architecture at l’École Polytechnique in Paris at the same
time as Monge around 1800. Durand developed a
universal planning grid for architecture.
Evans describes that Durand’s grid architecture is based Geometry for Aesthetics and Ambience:
on the misunderstanding of the spatial coordinate The market success of industrial products strongly
system. Instead of understanding the coordinate system depends on their aesthetic character, i.e. the emotional
in an abstract way, he transformed the coordinate planes reaction that the product is able to evoke. To achieve
directly in architecture as floor and walls. their aim designers have to act on specific shape
Geometry for Strength: properties, but at present they are not directly supported
Foundations being most important part of building for in this by existing digital tools for model definition and
strength are constructed simple rectangle based cubes as manipulation, mainly because of the still missing
they are easy to construct and give maximum efficiency mathematical formalisation of the properties themselves.
and are good with the form working. On the other hand The European project FIORES-II (GRD1-1999-10785-
pile foundations are constructed cylindrical as they are Character Preservation and Modelling in Aesthetic and
drilled in earth minimum friction is required and at the Engineering Design), started in April 2000, aims at
same volume and lesser surface area cylinder is best. investigating and identifying the links between emotional
Triangle on the other hand is said to be the most stable shape perception and geometry and to create, through
shape. And for the same reason is used as most reliable their mathematical formalization, more user friendly
members of building when it comes to load bearing and tools for aesthetic design
stable structures may it be geodesic domes or big trusses.
Relationships between a Physical Form and its
Emotional Message:
In order to develop modelling tools to allow designers to
quickly attain the desired emotional message, it is
necessary to understand the procedures they follow to
NCAICT: National Conference on Advances in Information and Communication Technology TEQIP-II/EE/AICMT-5

achieve their objectives. Within the FIORES-II project,


design activities in different industrial fields have been
analysed in depth and the language used in different
phases of the design cycle has been studied. It emerged
that the terms strictly related to emotional values (eg
dynamic, aggressive, etc.) that express the objectives to
be achieved by the end product are mainly used when
designers talk with marketing people. On the other hand,
Figure 7 Application of Agamas in Temple Planning
during the creation and modification of the digital model,
designers communicate their aesthetic intent using a
more detailed and restricted set of terms corresponding
to shape properties. In this phase they provide Islam: Islamic decoration makes great use of geometric
instructions on which elements and properties have to be patterns which have developed over the centuries. Many
changed to realise their objective (eg making a curve a bit of these derived from various earlier cultures: Greek,
more accelerated, or decreasing the tension of its Roman, Byzantine, Central Asian, and Persian. They are
curvature) and to fulfil marketing directives. This second usually distinguished from the arabesque, the term for
set of terms represents the first link between low-level decoration in Islamic art based on curving and branching
geometric properties and the high-level features of a vegetal forms. But sometimes foliage and linear
product. Therefore, in order to identify links between geometric patterns are combined in a single design, and
message and geometric shape, we envisage a two-level some purely abstract linear patterns adopt designs that
mapping: the first level links geometric properties to seem clearly derived from vegetal arabesque ones. The
design terms; the second links these latter to the geometric designs have evolved into beautiful and highly
emotional message. complex patterns, still used in many modern day settings.
Geometry and Religion: The square and rectangle play a significant role in Islamic
Sacred geometry is used as a religious, philosophical, and architecture. Some of the reason for this is façades built
spiritual term to explain the fundamental laws of the from rectangular bricks. This ornamental brickwork casts
universe covering Pythagorean geometry and the shadows in the strong desert sunlight and creates a three-
perceived relationships between geometrical laws dimensional effect. A recurring motif is a small central
and quantum mechanical laws of the universe that create square turned 45 degrees within a larger square. Another
the geometrical patterns in nature. Many Gothic source for the square motif is woven baskets.
cathedrals were built using proportions derived from the
geometry inherent in the cube and double-cube; this
tradition continues in modern Christian churches to the
present time. Churches, temples, mosques,
religious monuments, altars, tabernacles; as well as for
sacred spaces such as temenoi, sacred groves, village
greens and holy wells, and the creation of religious art. In
sacred geometry, symbolic and sacred meanings are
ascribed to certain geometric shapes and certain
geometric proportions, according to Paul Calter and
Figure 8 Cosmic Geometric Patterns in Islam
others.
Hinduism: The Agamas are a collection of Sanskrit,Tamil The Persianate world is the main area with buildings with
and Grantha, scriptures chiefly constituting the methods decorative brickwork, especially during the Seljik period;
of temple construction and creation of idols, worship the Great Mosque of Cordoba is another example further
means of deities, philosophical doctrines, meditative west. The eight-pointed star is another common motif
practices, attainment of six fold desires and four kinds of in Islamic architecture, often found in tile-work and other
yoga. Elaborate rules are laid out in the Agamas for Silpa media. Star patterns are extremely complex when the
(the art of sculpture) describing the quality requirements outer points are joined together and other intersections
of the places where temples are to be built, the kind of connect in a systematic way. The Alhambra palace
images to be installed, the materials from which they are in Granada, Spain is a famous example of repeating motifs
to be made, their dimensions, proportions, air circulation, which occur in the tile and stucco decoration. Octagons
lighting in the temple complex etc. The Manasara and appear in Islamic architecture in various shapes. They
Silpasara are some of the works dealing with these rules. frequently occur in marble floors. The Citadel
The rituals followed in worship services each day at the of Aleppo in Syria contains marble opus sectile floors,
temple also follow rules laid out in the Agamas. which utilize the square and the eight-pointed star.
NCAICT: National Conference on Advances in Information and Communication Technology TEQIP-II/EE/AICMT-5

Pierced screens (jali in India) are another common Conclusion: The relationship between architectural
location for geometric decoration. design and geometry starts with the notion of harmony as
the principle for all sciences and creations. The analysis of
the antique comprehension of harmony shows the
geometrical root and the superior idea of this concept for
all sciences and designing disciplines. Today the various
sciences and arts are in most cases strongly separated.
Therefore there is the risk that the powerful relationship
between geometry and architecture gets lost. Steven
Holl, who refers in his architectural work to geometry and
other sciences, noticed: “For example Johannes Kepler’s
Mysterious Cosmo-graphical united art, science, and
cosmology.
Figure 9 Geometry in Jali Designs

Going Beyond Geometry:


Parametric design is a process based on algorithmic
thinking that enables the expression of parameters and
rules that, together, define, encode and clarify the
relationship between design intent and design response.
Parametric design is a paradigm in design where the
relationship between elements are used to manipulate
and inform the design of complex geometries and
structures.
Figure 11 Application of Golden Rati in Roman Temple Design

The term 'Parametric' originates from mathematics Today, specialization segregates the fields; yawning gaps
(Parametric equation) and refers to the use of certain prohibit potential cross-fertilization.” By remembering
parameters or variables that can be edited to the historical relations between geometry and
manipulate or alter the end result of an equation or architectural design we help to keep the background of
system. Parametric design is not a new concept and has our culture but also to understand the fruitful
always formed a part of architecture and design. The combination between geometrical thinking and
consideration of changing forces such as climate, setting, architectural designing.
culture, and use has always formed part of the design By integrating experiments on using geometric structures
process. for designing in the architecture curriculum we should
reflect this relationship and try to develop new impulses
for geometrical based designing in architecture. Only few
examples were shown here in an overview. There are
more efforts necessary in the future to work out this
relationship in detail, historical and theoretical, from an
architectural and a geometrical point of view as well as to
experience and apply it in the practice of architectural
design.

Figure 10 Example of Parametric Design

Parametric modelling systems can be divided into two


types of systems:

 Propagation based systems where you compute


from known to unknowns with a dataflow model.
 Constraint systems which solve sets of continuous
and discrete constraints.
NCAICT: National Conference on Advances in Information and Communication Technology TEQIP-II/EE/AICMT-5

Figure 12 Identifying Geometrical Characteristics in a building

References:
1. Alberti, Leon Battista: The Ten Books of Architecture. Dover Publications, New York, 1987.
2. Berkel, Ben van, Caroline Bos: Move. UN Studio Amsterdam, 1999.
3. Bill, Max: Struktur als Kunst? Kunst als Stuktur? In: Georg Braziller: Struktur in Kunst und Wisssenschaft.
Éditions de la Connaissance, Brüssel, 1967.
4. Cohen, Preston Scott: Contested Symmetries and other predicaments in architecture. Princeton Architectural
Press, New York, 2001.
5. Evans, Robin: The Projective Cast. Architecture and Its Three Geometries. The MIT Press, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 1995.
6. http://www.rwgrayprojects.com/synergetics
7. http://www.boontwerpt.nl
8. Holl, Steven: Parallax. Birkhaeuser Basel, Boston, Berlin, 2000.
9. Ivins, William M.: Art and Geometry. A Study in Space Intuitions. Dover Publications, New York, 1964
(Reprint of 1946).
10. Kepler, Johannes: Weltharmonik (Harmonices mundi, 1619). R. Oldenburg Verlag, München, 1997.
11. Leopold, Cornelie: Geometrische Strukturen. Exhibition of student’s works at University of Kaiserslautern,
2005
12. www.appendx.org/issue3/cohen/index.htm
13. www.industrialorigami.com
14. www.wikipedia.org
15. www.wolfsburgcitytour.de/Museen/Phaeno_Museum_1/phaeno_museum_1.html

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