Skeletons, Shapes, and the Shift from Surface to Structure in Architectural Geometry

摘要: Architects who digitally manipulate geometry confront a rift between what is being displayed on the screen (metric shapes) and computed (their non-metric skeletons). This article critically reads this relationship surface appearance abstract structure against historical backdrop of changing attitudes toward visual world in postwar architectural mathematical cultures. First, it examines skeletal (graph theoretic) representations floor plan advanced centres research at University Cambridge Open University. Then, interprets work’s technical discursive outputs context contemporaneous disciplinary pedagogical debates around British mathematics. By positioning skeletons (graphs) genealogy ambivalence concrete appearance, seeks to activate critical perspectives descriptions currently reified computer software.