In early December, the Winton Gallery – a constant exposition dedicated to mathematics and its impact on the world, opened in the London Museum of Science. The architect of the project was Zakha Hadid, who, before becoming an architect and to achieve outstanding successes in this area, studied mathematics. Remembering her childhood in Iraq, Hadid said that solving problems and writing mathematical formulas was as natural as drawing and making sketches. Hadid passed away in March 2016 and Winton became the first project of her bureau completed after the death of the architect.
Here, mathematics is not presented as a set of academic concepts, but as a practice that allows using new technologies to change the surrounding space. The central object of the new hall chose the 1929 GUGNUNC aircraft. At one time, the experimental model was a breakthrough in aerodynamics: the new form of the wing increased the safety of the flight and influenced the further development of all civil aviation. Around this breakthrough study, architects built the concept of the exposition. The plane suspended to the ceiling is surrounded by three structures, the shape of which repeats the turbulence of air around the liner. This, if you want, is a visualized formula for calculating air flows. And it is fantastically beautiful – just breathtaking! The whole process was recorded on the video.
According to the creators of the exhibition, the aircraft under the dome is also the embodiment of the main theme of the gallery, the illustration that mathematical calculations are beneficial in ordinary life. For example, all passenger aviation was built on them. The remaining elements of the exhibition with stands and screens in contrast with these visualized air flows are placed emphasized rectangular shapes. In total, the museum has more than 100 exhibits in the new hall, which clearly answer the question of how mathematics forms the world around us, affecting all: from sellers to fishermen, from aviation designers to bankers and landscape designers.
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