Compass and Rule - Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England

We visited the Museum of the History of Science on Broad Street, and saw an interesting exhibit titled Compass and Rule - Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England, 1500-1750. This exhibit displayed drawings and instruments that show the transition of the practice of architecture from a craft to an intellectual pursuit. Some of the more interesting drawings were the first medieval maps drawn to scale and used for military purposes, and of course the drawings of Christopher Wren for the dome of London's St. Paul's Cathedral. Wren's drawings are one of the first recorded instances of an architectural form being developed during the design process (instead of during construction). Also of interest were the drawings of King George III from the 1700's. He was one of the first "gentleman-architects" and studied architecture with a tutor. His drawings preserve his first steps as a teenager to his sophisticated designs as a middle-aged man. As paper was precious, it was unusual to save a record of the basic beginning exercises. These drawings give us an idea of what an architectural education was like in the 18th century. This exhibit will be coming to the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut in February 2010.