Geometry Ancient Egypt – Pyramid Proportions

PDFPRINT“3D Thinking” Page 74 to 87: The slope ratios, dimensions, construction, and alignment methods, of the Pyramids of Ancient Egypt: THE SLOPES OF THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT Given the whole number traditions of ancient Egypt one would expect the slopes of the pyramids to be in whole number proportions too. Whole number grids of square […]

A Geometry of Early Islam – Nesting Polygons

PDFPRINT“3D Thinking” Page 190, 191: There are a number of Islamic design methodologies of which the “Nesting Polygon” method is one. The method places an arrangement of polygons within a polygon and continues infinitely placing the same but scaled arrangement within each polygon as it appears. The method was used to generate a lattice from […]

A Geometry of Early Islam – ABJAD, Circles and a Door

PDFPRINT“3D Thinking” Pages 175 to 177 Islamic Geometry: This Seljuk period door dates from 13th-century Anatolia and stands as a possible example of a use of numeric values to communicate a message. The door’s design is based the Islamic “close-packing circle” method of design – in this case an arrangement of close-packing circles within a pentagon. The two primary numbers […]

A Geometry of Early Islam – The Dynamic Circle Method

PDFPRINT“3D Thinking” Pages 187, 274: Using close-packing circles to create surface designs, during the early years of Islam, requires a method to generate different close-packing circle arrangements. The dynamic sphere geometry provides such a method. Applying the geometry, starting with a 5-circle arrangement within the unit triangle of a square, generates many arrangements including the […]

A Geometry of Early Islam – The Circle Method and a Window

PDFPRINT“3D Thinking” Page 187: The animation below shows the Arabian “close-packing” circle method that was used to create the window design of the 1356CE Madrasa of Amir Salf al-din Sargatmish in Old Cairo, Egypt. The design method dates back to the Abbasid period – a time of great creativity. The development starts with (i) a […]

Geometry Divine Proportions

PDFPRINT “3D Thinking” Pages 67, 75, 77, 210 to 213: Ideas of “Divine Proportions” originated in the distant past. For the Pythagoreans whole numbers resonated throughout the cosmos in sacred music, in geometry and in number. For the Harrapans of the Indus Valley they found expression in fire altars of different shapes but of constant […]

A Geometry of Early Islam – The “Ray” Method

PDFPRINT“3D Thinking” Pages 183 to 186: An example of the Ray Method – one of the six primary methods used to create Arabian designs during the early Islamic period – during the Abbasid Caliphate 566-653CE. In the animation one arm of a “10-Ray” is used to position a “6-Ray” – then on the intersection of […]

Geometry Architecture Golden Ratio Proportions

PDFPRINT“3D Thinking” Pages 280 to 289: The drawing shows an example of how a Golden Ratio “Ideation Lattice” is derived from the “Dynamic Sphere” geometry – and then how an architectural structure is extracted from the lattice.  In this example, connecting sphere centers creates the lattice. The sphere packing is the “Golden Ratio” packing. Software […]

Geometry New Golden Ratio Icon

PDFPRINTThis new rogerburrowsimages.com icon shows the relationship between Le Corbusier’s ‘man’ and the “Golden Sphere” packing generated by the author’s “Dynamic Sphere” geometry. The packing generates three-dimensional “ideation lattices” from which design, art, and architectural forms can be extracted. As much as DaVinci’e “Vitruvian Man” represents a “whole number” proportionate system that dates back to […]