Shape as memory : a geometric theory of architecture

How do buildings store information and experience in their shape and form? Michael Leyton has attracted considerable attention with his interpretation of geometrical form as a medium for the storage of information and memory. In this publication he draws specific conclusions for the field of architecture and construction, attaching fundamental importance to the complex relationship between symmetry and asymmetry. Wie können Gebäudeformen Erfahrungen und Inhalte speichern? Leyton hat eine viel beachtete neue Theorie der geometrischen Form entwickelt. Er interpretiert
die geometrische Form - im Gegensatz zur gesamten Tradition - als Informations- und Gedächtnisträger. In vorliegender Darstellung zieht er die spezifischen Konsequenzen davon für den Bereich der Architektur und des Bauens.

Author Notes

Professor Michael Leyton ison the faculty of the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science, at Rutgers. He is president of the International Society for Mathematical and Computational Aesthetics and lives in Manhattan.

History	p. 5
1 Geometry and Memory	p. 8
1.1 Introduction	p. 8
1.2 Conventional Geometry: Euclid to Einstein	p. 8
1.3 Special and General Relativity	p. 10
1.4 New Foundations to Geometry	p. 12
1.5 The Memory Roles of Symmetry and Asymmetry	p. 15
1.6 Basic Procedure for Recovering the Past	p. 18
1.7 Architecture	p. 21
2 A Process-Grammar for Shape	p. 24
2.1 Curvature as Memory Storage	p. 24
2.2 General Symmetry Axes	p. 25
2.3 Symmetry-Curvature Duality	p. 26
2.4 The Interaction Principle	p. 27
2.5 Undoing Curvature Variation	p. 28
2.6 Extensive Application	p. 29
2.7 A Grammatical Decomposition of the Asymmetry Principle	p. 31
2.8 Process-Grammar and Asymmetry Principle	p. 35
2.9 Scientific Applications of the Process-Grammar	p. 36
2.10 Artistic Applications of the Process-Grammar	p. 40
2.11 Architectural Applications of the Process-Grammar	p. 41
3 Architecture as Maximal Memory Storage	p. 54
3.1 Introduction	p. 54
3.2 The Two Fundamental Principles	p. 54
3.3 Groups	p. 55
3.4 Generating a Shape by Transfer	p. 56
3.5 Fiber and Control	p. 58
3.6 Projection as Memory	p. 59
3.7 Regularity in Classical Architecture	p. 62
3.8 Breaking the Iso-Regularity	p. 69
3.9 Reference Frames	p. 70
3.10 New Theory of Symmetry-Breaking	p. 70
3.11 Maximizing Memory Storage	p. 72
3.12 Theory of Unfolding	p. 75
4 Architecture and Computation	p. 86
4.1 Introduction	p. 86
4.2 New Foundations for Science	p. 86
4.3 New Foundations for Art	p. 89
4.4 New Foundations for Computation	p. 90
4.5 What is a Building?	p. 91

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Author Notes

Table of Contents