Jane Burry and Mark Burry The New Mathematics of Architecture

Nexus Netw J Jane Burry and Mark Burry The New Mathematics of Architecture 0 CEAU - Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto Rua do Gólgota , 215 4150-755 Porto, P The New Mathematics of Architecture , by architects Jane Burry and Mark Burry, 'is an account of the ways in which [a] new mathematical focus is manifested in designed and built projects since the mid-1990s' (from the Introduction, p. 8). The focus herein aims at the mathematics from the last three centuries, and the new computational tools that made it tangible for architecture in recent decades. After a foreword by Brett Steele and an introduction by the authors, the book develops along six chapters: 1) mathematical surfaces and seriality; 2) chaos, complexity, emergence; 3) packing and tiling; 4) optimization; 5) topology; 6) datascapes and multidimensionality. A glossary of mathematical/technical terms completes the work. Jane Burry; Mark Burry; mathematics; geometry; non-Euclidean geometry; digital tools - affairs is not concealed and, to the contrary, is turned into a tool, since the mathematical quest echoes the design enquiry in architecture, two endeavours that are connected in the context of this book. Case-studies are gathered from a broad spectrum of themes: from experiences or lines of enquiry driven by conceptual research or optimisation, to well-known built structures. They illustrate the many ways of handling design and construction, when digital computation and a strong mathematical content are the main tools. Some examples, one from each chapter, are: Inversion Modelling by John Pickering; Federation Square by LAB Architecture Studio; The Water Cube, by PTW Architects; the British Museum Court by Foster + Partners (see [Williams 2011]) ; the Metropolitan Opera House by Toyo Ito; and Digital Water Pavilion by Carlo Ratti Associati. Case studies are succinctly presented based on numerous images. In the text, which maintains the tone of the chapter introductions, some of the mathematical/technical features mentioned are listed in the footer of the page, pointing to the entries in the glossary. Each entry of the glossary has an image and a very concise text, making it extremely useful as a reference in itself. It establishes a simple approach to a diverse set of mathematical/technical terms, including ‘algorithm’, ‘evolutionary shape optimiser’, ‘fractal’, ‘non-linearity’ and ‘Voronoi diagram’. Jane Burry and Mark Burry have written a valuable reference text for anyone interested in the interdisciplinary field of architecture and mathematics, within the present context of digital computation. It must be noted that this book does not teach mathematics. It is a sourcebook of post-seventeenth-century mathematical topics that stresses their connections to architectural design, and will surely trigger the pursuit of those topics that resonate in the personal enquiry of the reader. About the reviewer Eliana Manuel Pinho has a degree (Licenciatura) in Physics/Applied Mathematics and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. After some years doing research in mathematics (patterns, symmetry and coupled cell networks) and teaching mathematics in the Universities of Beira Interior and Aveiro, Portugal, she studied the geometrical content in the domestic Roman architecture in Portugal, in particular in the plans and mosaics of Roman villas. She is currently working on the topic ‘Descriptive Geometry in the education of architects in Portugal’, a work that is developed with a post-doctoral grant in the Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto (FAUP). Eliana is interested in the subjects shared by art and mathematics, in the teaching of mathematics to architects and visual artists (she was a teacher of ‘Geometry and Spatial Systems’ at FAUP), and has an incomplete degree in sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto. WILLIAMS , Chris . 2011 . Patterns on a Surfacr. The Reconciliation of the Circle and the Square . Nexus Network Journal 13 , 2 : 281 - 296 . (...truncated)