What famous structureswere built
using mathematics?
Actually, allfamous structures needed
mathematics, especially in the initial
phases of design and construction. Some
of the more famous—and exceptionally
challenging—buildings include the Chry-
sler Building in New York (a steel frame
skyscraper built around 1930 that was the
tallest building in the world before the
Empire State Building); the Empire State
Building in New York (a steel-framed,
stone-clad commercial office skyscraper
built in 1931 that rises 1,252 feet [381
meters] high); the Eiffel Tower in Paris,
France (designed by architect Gustave
Eiffel and built between 1887 and 1889 as
a 985-foot- [300-meter-] tall exposition
iron observation tower); and the Sears
Tower in Chicago (built between 1974 to
1976, it is a steel-frame with glass struc-
ture standing at 1,450 feet [442 meters] tall and is, to date, the tallest building in the
United States). Places such as the Monterey Aquarium (built around 1980 with rein-
forced concrete and made compatible with surrounding waterfront structures) also
needed mathematics in order to be constructed. Of course, when one gets down to it,
alltypes of construction require some math knowledge for them to be built, even a
modest piece of cabinetry.
What are scale drawings?
Scale drawings are drawings or illustrations that are proportional in scale to the real
structures they represent. In order for a new building to be designed, an architect
must convert his or her ideas to drawings. But since the drawings can’t be as large as
the building, the architect uses scale drawings to depict the structure. These minia-
ture versions of the actual structure show the sizes, shapes, and arrangements of
rooms, along with structural parts, windows, doors, closets, and other important
details of construction. The scale drawings of these buildings must be in exact pro-
portion to the actual structure, with various scales used for this purpose. For exam-
ple, 1/8 inch might be used to represent one foot; thus, an eight-foot-long building
feature would be drawn as an inch long on paper. One of the most common scales
used by architects is 1/4 inch 1 foot. (These measurements can also be translated
into the metric scale.) 337
MATH IN ENGINEERING
The famous ancient structure of Stonehenge in Eng-
land is now believed to have been designed to mea-
sure astronomical events as part of a religious tradi-
tion. The Image Bank/Getty Images.