Architecture and Mathematics
The plan and elevation/section of the Villa Rotonda were electronically reproduced from [Palladio 1997: p. 95] and reconfigured by Stephen R. Wassell.  The photograph is by Stephen R. Wassell.

What makes a work of architecture beautiful, special, moving?  In this course we shall explore answers to this question from a mathematical point of view, emphasizing issues of geometry, proportion, and symmetry.*  Building design will be the primary focus, but landscape architecture and urban planning will also be discussed.  (This is not a course in architectural engineering; structure will be studied only as it pertains to the aesthetics of design.)

N.B. This website was designed for a course last taught in 2001, so please pardon any broken links, as well as the lack of references to publications since 2001. Subsequent incarnations of this course are taught using Moodle, and access to the website is available only to students enrolled in the course.
 
Course Materials:
 
    Syllabus
    References
    Images for Units
Unit 1: Prehistoric Architecture; Introduction to Geometry
Unit 2: Ancient Architecture; Introduction to Symmetry, Proportion
Unit 3: Ancient Greece
Unit 4: Ancient Rome
Unit 5: Early Christian, Byzantine
Unit 6: Islam and the West
Unit 7: Early Medieval and Romanesque
Unit 8: Gothic
Unit 9: Renaissance and Baroque
    Final Exam Review
Useful Online Resources:
Related Online Journals:
Conferences of Interest:

*Disclaimer: I want to make explicit that it is certainly not my contention that everything beautiful, special, or moving in architecture is mathematical!

Steve Wassell's web page