Article 6, The Holy Trinity of Architecture, March 15, 2014

Our building has not yet been conceived in the Architect Denied progression of articles. To avoid a premature birth we need to continue our discussions, well actually we don't but in a perfect world only found here in these writings, we can imagine so. I would like to focus on numbers for this article -WOW did everyone just loose interest? I'm not going to school you in MATH, that's not what the Architect Denied is about but I would like to loosely play around with three very famous numbers everyone already knows. So I'm calling these numbers the, "Holy Trinity" of architecture, number wise. So for my non architectural readers prepare yourselves for fun; think of this as learning some super cool trivia knowledge. For my esteemed colleagues if you're like me and received your education from professors who were more concerned about showing how much smarter they were than you, then you probably never got these simple concepts that should have been taught us. So what are these numbers that constitute the trinity? (Trust me, there is no secret religious meanings behind these) The first is pi. Wow, outstanding, talk about the obvious; everyone knows what pi is, thanks Mr. Alternative! Well now give me a chance and see what I have to say about it. Number two: phi, OK now we are going into the Davinci Code stuff here aren't we ? Well maaaaybe... (Been there, done that you say?) The third number I want to add, and my favorite is "i", my imaginary number friend (yes, it is a number). Just like the fourth dimension "i" is that number architects, certainly not me, can incorporate in their work. The first architect that does, please let me know!

So starting of with pi. It is simply the circumference of any circle divided by its diameter. pi is also IRRATIONAL (cannot be written as a ratio,  fraction hence the irr-ratio-nal.) If you place geometric shapes in a circle say a square, add up all of its sides divide by the diameter you get a number, lets say 2. Place a hexagon in the circle (which fills in the circle a bit more) and add up its sides divide by its diameter and you get 2 point something let's say. Draw a octagon in the circle do the math you start to approach 3.14... not until you draw a shape with a hundred sides or so do you start to get 3.14, the number we all know and love. (That's why pi goes to infinity, you keep filling the circle) But you didn't come to Architect Denied to learn about the obvious (although it truly is fascinating) So let us learn about Pi, the architect (I'm cheating here but you will love this trust me-after all the circle and pi are very well documented-don't make me start talking about radians and the unit circle!) VIDEO please:

OK, now that we have learned about pi and the progressive Dutch (let's make that a separate discussion) I would like to talk about the Golden Section- The holy grail of architecture. Now like pi , I can't simply give you the formal definition of phi, well I could but Khan Academy does a great video on the topic. So I'm guessing you don't want to see the Vituvian Man for the millionth time either...or Le Corbusier's famous "Modular Man", so what do you want? I'm writing this article so I guess that's my job to figure it out. Better yet ,watch this short video that sums up phi better than I ever could:

How cool was that? Now, some of my colleagues are thinking yea, yea big whoop. Now ask yourself Mr. or Mrs. Architect when was the last time you used the golden section in your work (or personal life) in a practical way?  I'm sure you would if you were given the time by your boss. I'm also certain  your client is going to pay you extra to make sure their design conforms to such standards, wink, wink. I'm sure you are shouting at your computer screen right now,"What legitimate architect doesn't utilize the golden section!" OK, I'm not here to beat anyone up so please comment below and show me I'm wrong:  MIT people: when you get finished writing software for the Apollo program please write some damn Golden section software that Autocad could use.  OK the lesson learned here is that phi, is the most important design concept nature employs (Not unlike the most important design tool man employs.... money.  I'm being cynical, I know)  

Now moving on from 3.1415, and 1.618 we arrive at " i ". Ever hear of "i" the imaginary number in mathematics? (not really imaginary, it exists) No? Well you are in for a treat. If you ever tried to find the square root of a negative number then you are out of luck, won't happen. So the way to solve that problem, mathematicians invented "i". So "i" squared = -1 or i = square root -1  It's that simple. So here is what blows my mind and it should yours: 8i x 2i = 16i squared and what is "i" squared? -1 so the answer to 8ix2i boils down to -16 ! Do you know what this means? We just went from an imaginary world to a real one! Holy #@&%! that should send shivers down your back as it does mine. We just crossed over from the land of another dimension back to the reality we know. Now why include i in my trinity, why even mention this to a general audience reading this blog? I have a secret motive that is why. It is my challenge to you and especially to the MIT brain trust (not professors because this would be cake for them, (why do I keep picking on these MIT guys?)) is to earn your money and show me how "i" is used in architecture! It's an open challenge which will be ignored because I don't think there is a student bold enough to attempt this under taking. Sure go ahead and employ phi, but you can't do i. If you do pull this off I would enjoy doing a feature article on it. Check out the first minute of this video for an intro to "i" by my favorite Internet voice:

OK, Architect Denied did a bit off an off road excursion with this article. I'm trying to put out there the most productive information possible but sometimes the wacky side of things takes over. Before I end here I would like to offer some "value" in this blog.  I think you should know this (especially if you are an architect) and this goes back to the golden section, Le Corbusier  and his obsession with proportion and that is this; tell me formally what is a proportion? Proportion is simply the comparison of two ratios that states they are equal-what's a ratio? a fraction, like a part to its whole. So if someone ever tells you that something is out of proportion tell them to prove it, when they can't, you can go ahead and amaze them with YOUR astute knowledge! 

Mathematicians, I would like to hear from you as well. Please comment, because I am no mathematician and have no "astute" math skills. Next we will discuss the beauty and poetics of the number "e", just kidding.