Architecture, Mathematics, and English Culture 1550-1750

The project combined the histories of architecture and of science to investigate the relationship between architecture and practical mathematics, and the development and changing role of the architect. Sir Christopher Wren emerged as the central historical figure of the project, for his career as astronomer, natural philosopher and architect.
There was a strong focus on material culture and the juxtaposition of normally separate topics and materials - for example, late medieval masons’ drawings on stone as well as paper, along with the large-scale instruments used in their building practice; or the architectural drawings of George III, the elaborate mathematical instruments offered for his patronage, and contemporary satirical prints featuring such instruments for emblematic effect. A principal outcome was a loan exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science in Summer 2009, which subsequently transferred to the Yale Center for British Art in 2010.