Mathematical elements in historic and contemporary architecture (Q871648)

Mathematics plays an important role in architecture regarding technical aspects, making buildings more functional or minimize energy costs. This essay calls attention to another fact, namely that mathematical rules are also used by the architects to strengthen the aesthetical attractivity of the buildings, for instance in facades, domes and vaults. Cylindrical, conical and hyperbolic surfaces are recognizable in contemporary buildings like the Lyon Opera Theatre (1993), the Cooling tower in Milan, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (Frank Gehry), and the Willis building in Ipswich (Norman Foster). Families of parameter curves are used for the Reichstags's dome in Berlin by Norman Forster and the ``bubble'' of Renzo Piano in Turin. The London City Hall has conic ramps. The skyscraper ``Turning Torso'' in Malmö of Santiago Calatrava is a twisting cube. But also in the past architects used mathematical curves cutting out windows in domes, as in St. Peter's cathedral in Rome or in S. Lorenzo by Guarini in Turin. Among many different ancient examples of elliptic and oval domes are the Residenz Church in Würzburg (Balthasar Neumann, 1741) and two churches in Rome: S. Carlino alle Quattro Fontane and S. Andrea al Quirinale (Gian Bernini, 17th century). The essay concludes with an unusual application of spherical elements by Richard Meier in the church of Tor Tre Teste in Rome (2003). Architects often give a splendid interpretation of the beauty of Mathematics.