Mathematics in Design - The Natural Number "e"
We learned in high school that natural growth is based on logarithms and "e" or 2.718..., the natural number discovered by Jakob Bernoulli (1654-1705). Growth of population, decay, bank interest and loans, and much more use the concept of "e." And it is not surprising that logarithmic spiral is often found in nature.
An example of the logarithmic spiral on a grand scale is the hurricane, completely uneffected by man yet following the laws of nature precisely. The ultimate example are the galaxies that continue to show growth in space on a scale that is unimaginable to us, but still follow the logarithmic spiral.
So how does this relate to design? This concept is evident in our designed environment, and the most notible are the spiral stairs when viewing from above. The stairway mimics exactly the natural pattern of growth as you can see in the pictures below. The origin of the spiral (where the stairs begin) continues to grow outward in a circular-polar manner, extending its radius in accordance to the logarithmic rules. The same can be said about spiral parking ramps. Although in reality these spirals only seem to follow the lograithmic rule when viewed from above, when designing or planning a display of an overhead-view of a sprial complex, the natural lograithm comes into play.
Other similar applications can be found with logarithmic equations. The example below shows a curved hallway coming to a single vanishing point if it were to extend infinitely. As you can see from the previous examples as well, the natural number "e" and its logarithmic applications are significant in architectural design and display.
