What are some ways architects use math?
The math skills needed to create or construct a building are
many indeed. If you have ever watched someone build anything, you
may have seen them use a tape measurer or a ruler. The ability to
measure is a basic math skill. It is how an architect communicates
the length or size of things we want to build. We must be able to
add and subtract these numbers but also must be able to use
fractions of these numbers. Today, we deal with measurements that
are both the English system and the Metric system. Architects use
math to convert between these two systems of measurement. You may
also find architects using the many formulas and principles of
geometry to create a building. Think about designing a building.
How strong do the walls and beams and ceilings need to be? You
figure that out with math, knowing the weights and strengths of the
materials. How much of the materials do you need? It depends on the
sizes of the walls, rooms, ceilings, all of that is math. Is
concrete cheaper, or steel or cinder block? It depends on how much
of each you need, what they cost to buy and build. How long will
each stage of the construction take, and how can they be planned to
overlap to get the building done the fastest? How much does each
sq. foot. of the building rent for, and how long will it take to
pay off the investment? How will it affect traffic in the
neighborhood? How big does the garage need to be to hold the cars
of what percentage of the people who work in the building or
customers/clients who visit the building?
What about windows? How many sq. feet per wall? How much heat
will build up in the rooms because of the windows? That will affect
how much air conditioning you need. Also windows leak heat during
the Winter so more of them means more heat too. How many electrical
outlets do you need? How many amps do you need from the power
lines? How many circuit-breakers? How many lighting fixtures do you
need? In modern buildings, the lighting system is considered part
of the heating system--which is why you see lights on in
skyscrapers in the middle of the night when nobody is there.
For big, tall buildings, architects are even concerned with how
the wind affects them, how it swirls between buildings. They use
computer models for this. Also things like earthquake
resistance.
There's almost every kind of math here! Geometry and trig,
calculus, accounting, engineering, finite element analysis,
computer modeling, etc.etc.