Tag Archives: design

Michelangelo, clinical anatomy, mathematics, the Golden Ratio, and a myth

I would have thought an article about Michelangelo, mathematics, and the Golden Ratio would be in a journal dedicated to the arts or mathematics or possibly both. Not even my tenth guess would  have been Clinical Anatomy. As for the myth, not everyone subscribes to the Golden Ratio theory of beauty.

A July 20, 2015 Wiley Periodicals press release (also on EurekAlert) announces the publication of the research,

New research provides mathematical evidence that Michelangelo used the Golden Ratio of 1.6 when painting The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The Golden Ratio is found when you divide a line into two parts so that the longer part divided by the smaller part is equal to the whole length divided by the longer part.

The Golden Ratio has been linked with greater structural efficiency and has puzzled scientists for centuries due to its frequent occurrence in nature–for example in snail shells and flower petals. The Golden Ratio can also be found in a variety of works by architects and designers, in famous musical compositions, and in the creations of many artists.

The findings suggest that the beauty and harmony found in the works of Michelangelo may not be based solely on his anatomical knowledge. He likely knew that anatomical structures incorporating the Golden Ratio offer greater structural efficiency and, therefore, he used it to enhance the aesthetic quality of his works.

“We believe that this discovery will bring a new dimension to the great work of Michelangelo,” said Dr. Deivis de Campos, author of the Clinical Anatomy study.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

More than a neuroanatomical representation in The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarroti, a representation of the Golden Ratio by Deivis De Campos, Tais Malysz,  João Antonio Bonatto-Costa, Geraldo Pereira Jotz, Lino Pinto De Oliveira Junior, and Andrea Oxley da Rocha. Clinical Anatomy DOI: 10.1002/ca.22580 Article first published online: 17 JUL 2015

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This paper is open access.

Golden Ratio myth

One final comment, it seems not everyone is convinced that the Golden Ratio plays an important role in design, art, and architecture according to an April 13, 2015 article by John Brownlee for Fast Company titled: The Golden Ratio: Design’s Biggest Myth,

In the world of art, architecture, and design, the golden ratio has earned a tremendous reputation. Greats like Le Corbusier and Salvador Dalí have used the number in their work. The Parthenon, the Pyramids at Giza, the paintings of Michelangelo, the Mona Lisa, even the Apple logo are all said to incorporate it.

It’s bullshit. The golden ratio’s aesthetic bona fides are an urban legend, a myth, a design unicorn. Many designers don’t use it, and if they do, they vastly discount its importance. There’s also no science to really back it up. Those who believe the golden ratio is the hidden math behind beauty are falling for a 150-year-old scam.

Fascinating, non?

Making solar panels beautiful

Researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena are working on ways to make solar panels more aesthetically pleasing according to a July 1, 2013 news item on Azonano,

Until now, designers of buildings have no choice but to use black or bluish-gray colored solar panels. With the help of thin-film technologies, researchers have now been able to turn solar cells into colorful creations.

Covering a roof or a façade with standard solar cells to generate electricity will change a building’s original appearance – and not always for the better. At present only dark solar panels are widely available on the market. “Not enough work has been done so far on combining photovoltaics and design elements to really do the term ‘customized photovoltaics’ justice,” says Kevin Füchsel, project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena.

But things are changing. The IOF physicist has been focusing for the last four years on nanostructured solar cells suitable for mass production as part of a junior research group funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). Together with a Fraunhofer team and scientists from the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, the group of optics specialists is looking for cost-effective techniques and manufacturing processes to increase both the efficiency of solar panels and the design flexibility they give architects and designers.

Here’s photomontage illustrating Füchsel’s ideas,

The photomontage shows how the Fraunhofer IAO building in Stuttgart could be fitted with an “efficient design” solar façade. © Fraunhofer IOF

The photomontage shows how the Fraunhofer IAO building in Stuttgart could be fitted with an “efficient design” solar façade.
© Fraunhofer IOF

The July 1, 2013 Fraunhofer Institute news release, which originated the news item, describes Füchsel’s work in more detail,

Füchsel is currently working with his “efficient design” team on the fundamentals of how to make colored solar cells from paper-thin silicon wafers. These will be particularly suited to designs for decorative façades and domestic roofs. The silicon semiconductor material, just a few micrometers thick, absorbs light and turns it into electricity. To enable lots of light to reach the silicon substrate, the semiconductor layer is given an optically neutral protective barrier (insulator), onto which a hundred-nanometer-thick oxide layer is applied. This transparent conductive oxide (TCO) conducts electricity, and is there primarily to guide as many light particles as possible to the semiconductor layer below. “TCO has a lower refractive index than silicon, so it works as an anti-reflective coating,” Füchsel says.

The simple construction of this SIS (semiconductor-insulator-semiconductor) solar cell, with its transparent outer layer, has a further advantage: Not only does it capture more light, it means solar panels can be made in different colors and shapes. “The color comes from changing the physical thickness of the transparent conductive oxide layer, or modifying its refractive index,” Füchsel says. The Jena-based researchers have thus managed to combine wafer-based silicon with processes borrowed from thin-film photovoltaics. They are also pioneering the use of innovative coating materials. Indium tin oxide is the most common material used today, but it is expensive.  The IOF laboratory is working on how to use cheaper zinc oxide with added aluminum. New opportunities in façade design are being opened up not just by SIS solar cells, however, but also by dye solar modules and flexible organic solar cells.

But how does color affect the efficiency of these new SIS modules? “Giving solar cells color doesn’t really affect their efficiency. The additional transparent TCO layer has barely any impact on the current yield,” Füchsel says. Simulations showed that SIS cells could be up to 20 percent efficient. In practice, the efficiency depends on the design of the solar panels and the direction the building faces. But not every color allows you to generate the same amount of electricity. There are restrictions for example with certain blends of red, blue and green.

To connect several solar cells to create a single module the IOF scientist will use laser-based optical welding processes. They enable accurate work at a micrometer scale and do not damage the surrounding material. Researchers are also developing an inkjet printing process to contact the conductive TCO later on the silicon wafer. This will make manufacturing faster and allow additional degrees of flexibility in design. SIS solar cells could even be used to make large billboards that produce their own electricity. Patents already cover the production of colored cells, as well as the ability to integrate design elements into solar panels and whole modules. “This opens up numerous possibilities to use a building to communicate information, displaying the name of a company or even artistic pictures,” Füchsel says.

I look forward to a more beautiful future.

Design hoedown in London, UK—The 2012 London Design Festival and future ways of living

It amused me to use the word hoedown (a gathering and/or a dance/music form associated with Americans in rural areas) to describe a design festival in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Here’s more about the festival from the Sept. 3, 2012 news item on Nanowerk,

 … cutting-edge … design and engineering visions for the future will be showcased at the launch of Northumbria’s new P3i research group at the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) in London this month [Sept. 2012].

Melding design with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, P3i brings together leading designers and engineers to find technology-based solutions for society’s needs and future ways of living. The centre will engage in a design-led exploration of emerging materials and technologies in, on and around the human body in the 21st Century.

As part of the 2012 London Design Festival, Northumbria’s P3i members will become designers in residence at the RAE from 18-21 September, showcasing some of their innovations in the Towards Future Ways of Living exhibition.

Visitors to the exhibition will be introduced to the group’s core values exploring the materials used to create products that matter to people. The P3i team will present an unexpected and unorthodox exhibition featuring four interactive rooms that will display glimpses of new materials and fabrication technologies.

Future products and services that combine innovative materials and fabrics with biological functions will be explored in P3i’s laboratories and studio facilities. Staff are currently at the forefront of research into anticipatory medical devices, such as the development of ‘smartware’ – fabrics that treat chronic wounds caused by diabetes and leg ulcers; ‘senseware’ – motion sensors embedded in textiles that can detect the onset of epileptic seizures and alert medical professionals; and ‘bioware’ – technology-embedded materials and surfaces in the home and on the body.

It won’t be all medical textiles, there’ll be a fashion influence and some hardcore engineering,

P3i researchers include Ann Toomey, Reader in Active Materials Research, and Nancy Tilbury, Reader in Fashion Interactions. Both recently arrived scholars at Northumbria University have extensive expertise and experience in design-led innovation with active materials. Tilbury, a fashion designer by training, interrogates new materiality and fashioning for the 21st century, uniting fashion and science in her work with clients, including her work on the creation of dynamic video clothing for the Black Eyed Peas 2011 world tour.

Also on board as part of the P3i research team are Lyndsay Williams, Reader in Hardware and Software Integration, and Dr Veronika Kapsali, Reader in Biomimetic Surface and Interface Engineering.

The P3I studio at Northumbria University has a description on its events page for the Future Ways of Living exhibition being presented at the London Design Festival,

As part of the 2012 London Design Festival P3i will become Designers in Residence at the Royal Academy of Engineering where visitors will be introduced to a future socio-enviro-techno integrated world. This journey will question & provoke dialogue around the needs & contexts of materials used to create products & services that matter to people.

Above all, the P3i designers will present an unexpected and unorthodox blend of ‘think tank’ vision and pragmatic methodologies for implementation and realisation. They are hoping to open up a debate on their ‘Future Ways of Living’ and position design as a critical and vital stage and voice in the formation and realisation of these concepts.

They offer some information about attending the free Future Ways of Living exhibition,

Exhibition Opening Times
Wednesday 19th September 9.30am – 6pm
Thursday 20th September 9.30am – 6pm
Friday 21st September 9.30am – 4pm

Venue Address
The Royal Academy of Engineering
3 Carlton House Terrace
London
SW1Y 5DG
Phone: 02077660604

Piccadilly Circus, Green Park, Charing Cross and Embankment underground stations are a short distance away

The Sept. 3, 2012 news release from  P3I includes this image,

Research from P³i could change the way that people live in the future (Downloaded from http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/browse/ne/uninews/p3ifuturedesign)

You can visit the 2012 London Design Festival website here for more details about the festival which takes place Sept. 14 – 23, 2012.