Yesterday we went to London Zoo with some friends of ours and aside from having a great day I noticed some great mathematics in the architecture of a few of the buildings.
The one I found most fascinating was the old penguin pool by Berthold Lubetkin, which is now a Grade 1 Listed structure.
The great design of these intersecting curved pathways is shown even better in the original architectural cross section
When this was constructed in 1934 reinforced concrete was new and exciting, this kind of mathematically intricate design wouldn’t have been possible in such a clean way before.
I also liked the geometric construction of the Snowdon Aviary which was designed by Lord Snowdon. It’s use of tension as a key force to keep the building up was revolutionary at the time.
This structure is composed of tetrahedrons between some giant V shaped columns.
I’m contemplating designing some mathematical tasks around these buildings…