This is a synthesis of presentations given during a three-day conference entitled "Nexus '96: Relationships Between Architecture and Mathematics," which took place in Fucecchio (in the province of Florence) 9-12 June 1996. The idea of the conference was born of several years of fruitful private correspondence between architects interested in mathematics and mathematicians interested in architecture. The question that engineer Mario Salvadori explores in his address to the conference is indeed a pertinent one: Can there be any relationships between architecture and mathematics? I believe the other presentations demonstrate amply that there can. What mathematical ideas are present in architecture? Nexus '96 presentations are concerned with geometrical forms and constructions, proportions, modular systems, minimum surfaces, number theory and symbolism, dimensional manipulation, fractals, and symmetry. How does architecture inspire mathematical thinking? Nexus '96 presentations show the relationships between pentadecagonal symmetry and Pisan mathematics of the 13th century; between the tensile structures of Frei Otto and ways to measure minimum surfaces; between the geodesic domes of Buckminister Fuller and the inherent stability of Archimedean solids. It appears then that rigorous mathematical processes and empirical architectural processes are not antithetical, but complementary. Each discipline is enriched by the discoveries of the other.
These presentations are collected in Nexus: Architecture and Mathematics, Kim Williams, editor, published by Edizioni dell' Erba, 1996. Copies are available for € 34.00 Euros. To order, visit the Nexus Network Journal Bookshop or e-mail Kim Williams.
Many people and companies contributed to the success of the Nexus '96 conference. As conference director I would like to thank the Anchorage Foundation of Texas and the Fondazione Montanelli-Bassi of Fucecchio, and the Comune of Fucecchio for making the conference possible. The book publication was made possible by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago. For access to the Internet, I thank the firm Sesa of Empoli. The synthesis of the presentations which appeared on the Internet could not have been accomplished without the kind assistence of Mr. Antonio Toni.
Kim Williams