Wisdom in Art: Mathematics in Islamic Architecture in Iran
Year: 2003 Authors: Hourieh Mashayekh
Core claim
Islamic Iranian architecture achieved poetic beauty and structural refinement through mathematical geometry, exemplified by the Friday mosque at Yazd.
Topics
Islamic Iranian architecture, geometry in design, Friday mosque entrance, medieval domes
Domains
geometry, mathematical calculations, proportional design, architecture, Islamic art, architectural ornament
Methods
comparative review, architectural examples, historical interpretation
Media
mosque entrances, tall towers, two-shelled domes
Paper text
The text below is the locally extracted OCR/Markdown version of the paper. Raw PDF files remain local and are not published here.
ISAMA The International Society of the Arts, Mathematics, and Architecture BRIDGES Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science
Wisdom in Art: Mathematics in Islamic Architecture in Iran
Hourieh Mashayekh 906-257 Lisgar St. Ottawa ON., CANADA, K2P0C7 Email: houri1197@yahoo.com
> “This high dome is simple, yet complexly designed, > No sage never knows, secrets behind the gate,”- Hafiz (14th century)
Architecture, through the ages, has embraced a wide variety of arts and sciences. By using mathematics, Islamic architecture has achieved a high level of beauty and perfection. Islamic Iranian architecture, especially in the Middle Ages (10-14 century) is an astonishing and glorious instance of this endeavor of applying mathematics to architecture.
The geometry is used in all kinds of designs; it means that this geometry has not only solved structural problems but also has been used in detailed designs. These designs range from very high and immense entrances of Friday mosques in important cities, to entrances of ordinary houses where the architecture has been concealed inside the house from the passengers out side, and to the axis of building that crosses each other with desirable angles responding to the architecture demands.
By reviewing the multiple examples of Islamic Iranian architecture, we realize its close relationship with scientific field such as mathematics, geometry, cosmology, astrology. We can see how this relationship made possible an achievement of perfection, magnification and poetic beauty. It is wisdom within art.
Medieval Islamic architecture of Iran, specially the period between Seljuk and Timur presents usage of advanced mathematics in tall towers, tall entrances and two shelled domes in the mosques of different cities.
Among the immense number of examples of the usage of mathematics in Islamic Iranian architecture, I would like to review one example which is worth researching completely in the future. This example is the entrance of the Friday mosque at Yazd. The Friday mosque is a notable building both visually and structurally. Facing this unique tall entrance, tallest entrance in Islamic architecture of Iran, makes the viewer think of heaven. This sense could only be projected by narrowing the entrance as much as possible and by making it as tall as possible with the help of mathematical calculations.
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