ARCHITECTURE & MATHS | Why you shouldn't let fear of maths hold you back from becoming an architect
There are two pervasive myths about mathematics and architecture that publics, and in particular high school students, often believe:
Architects do drawing, not maths.
Architects have to be brilliant mathematicians.
Seeing these two myths written down next to each other like that, you’ve probably noticed something strange going on - they are entirely contradictory! That’s pretty revealing of the fact that neither tells the true story about architecture and maths.
So you want to know the truth
Do architects use maths?
YES.
Are all architects incredible mathematicians?
NO.
This difference between the myths and the truth is dangerous, especially when you consider the implications for people who might choose to study architecture. In my experience, there are two major reasons why people decide not to study architecture. One is that they don’t think they can draw well enough. The other is that they think they aren’t good enough at maths.
Certainly, architects use maths, and need to have a basic understanding of a range of mathematical thinking to carry out their job. But this isn’t unusual - accountants, builders, bakers, lawyers, teachers and a raft of other professions also use aspects of mathematical thinking in their day to day lives. What’s more, it’s not worth being scared about.
Why is maths important for Architecture?
Architecture deals with the physical world - how we understand the relationships between things, how we put things together. This is fundamentally related to maths and physics, which allow us to understand these factors.
Geometric relationships are in many ways the basis of architectural thinking. Geometry is the overlap of the things we draw - shapes, forms, angles, lines - and the mathematical understanding of them.
Architects also use trigonometry (for understanding roof pitch, or distances between points), calculations for areas, perimeter and volume, and spend time adding & subtracting, multiplying and dividing to calculate quantities.
“The logic of maths is a critical tool of the architect.
But it’s a skill - so it can be learnt, practiced, and mastered. With time, the maths architects use becomes little more than habit.”
How do architects use maths on a day to day basis?
To communicate.
An understanding of maths enables architects to have clear communications with other Built Environment professionals. This includes working with: Structural Engineers (strength calculations, sizes of structural elements, angles); Quantity Surveyors (areas, monetary values, percentage margins); Land Surveyors (whose drawings showing heights, distances and angles you will need to interpret).
To think about space.
Architects design spaces, and spatial thinking requires an understanding of maths. This includes thinking about dimensions, proportions and sizes. It extends to drawing details figuring out how all the building elements will fit together, overlap, and line up.
To Draw.
Yes, architects use maths to draw. Architects usually draw things smaller than they will be built in reality, so the drawings will fit on a sheet of paper, but still show a suitable level of detail. This is called a ‘scale drawing’, and using a ‘scale ruler’, people looking at the drawing can easily figure out how large the drawn lines will be in real life. Converting between various scales can be confusing at first, but quickly becomes a habit.
To run, or take part in, a business.
One thing we often forget is that architecture is a business, and in any business, not just architecture, an understanding of maths is useful. From the basics of income, profit margins, expenses & losses, to invoicing clients, calculating percentage fees based on estimated project construction costs or weighing up whether or not to take part in an unpaid competition proposal, maths underpins key business decision-making.
Don’t let fear of maths hold you back
Whatever you do in life, you will use some maths. That’s why it’s a core subject in school, even though a large proportion of the population claim to thoroughly dislike it. This is especially true as the world becomes more computer and systems oriented.
When I tell people that I studied architecture, I am often surprised by the number of people who respond with their own story of wanting to study architecture, but not following through because they were too scared of either the drawing or the maths component. Don’t let that be you!
If you think you can't draw well enough, click through to our posts on architecture & drawing here.
Why you shouldn’t let fear of maths
stop you studying architecture
There is maths, and then there is M A T H S.
The maths that architects use on a day to day basis is not abstract, it doesn’t involve imaginary numbers, or complex equations. It is all fairly straightforward.
The maths architects use is applied, and practical. You can visualise how and why you are using it. The numbers have meaning.
Even so, some of the maths you learn at university won’t be directly useful in practice - you won’t be carrying out freehand calculations of material stresses. But that’s not to say that understanding the concepts behind these aspects isn't useful.
You will learn
Fear of maths is so prevalent, even among those who do study architecture, that you won’t be alone in this concern and you won’t be left to sink. You are at university to learn and you will be supported to do so. Or course, it’s up to you to recognise your weaknesses and make the most of the support available to work on them.
In architectural practice, the maths you use is repetitive, so maths becomes a habit. In this way, maths is skill just like drawing a section, scaling a drawing, analysing a site, or any one of the other things that architects do that non-architects probably don’t have a clue about. It gets easier, and it will make sense.
Understanding Maths makes you a better Architect
Getting a handle on the basics of maths actually helps you understand architecture better. You can see how a building comes together, evaluate ways to save costs, and envisage complex 3-dimensional assemblages.
This also enables you to make better decisions as an architect to support your design concepts, and enables you to better engage with consultants, working through problems with them.
Learning maths also teaches you other skills which are valuable for architecture. These include analytical thinking, problem solving skill, processes for finding solutions, the importance of testing, and how to look at problems in different ways.
The logic of maths is a critical tool of the architect.
But it's a skill and a body of knowledge which can be learnt.
So you should acknowledge the importance of maths, but don’t be stressed about it!
While you are learning, you should challenge yourself, particularly in areas you are less confident in, and not be be afraid of getting things wrong or 'failing'. Most of us do, and that's how we learn best. he aim is to be competent, and to have command of your design thinking. To do that, you don't necessarily need to be a maths whizz.
We’re putting together a series on the use of mathematics and engineering in architecture. If you have a question or problem regarding architecture and maths, please leave us a comment below - if it is suitable, we’d love to include it in our series!
L'institute du Monde Arabe, Paris - Jean Nouvel
The image used in the main post graphic above, and replicated to the left, is a photograph of the facade of the Institute du Monde Arabe, a building in Paris designed by Architect Jean Nouvel.
The building is famous for its very beautiful, operable facade panels. Nouvel studied traditional Arabic mashrabiyya patterns (note, maths) and worked with engineers (more maths, but helped by engineers) to develop an operable version, in which parts of the pattern move over one another to allow more or less sunlight to enter the building. The affect is startlingly beautiful, and the the engineering, almost magical.
