13 June 2005: The
magnificent dome of St. Paul's, among the highest in the world,
rises 365 ft. above the streets of London. St. Paul's was designed
by Sir Christopher Wren.
From
http://www.mathsinthecity.com/sites/dome-st-pauls-cathedral-london
"One of Wren’s early sketches for the triple dome design, from
around 1690, shows that he used a mathematical
curve to define the shape of the middle dome; the cubic curve y=x3
is clearly plotted on the axes marked on the design.
The curve not only defines the shape of the middle dome but also the
height and width of the surrounding abutments,
positioned so as to contain a continuation of the cubic curve to ground
level...This sketch is one of the earliest
documented instances of mathematical principles being used in
architectural design."
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