The Arrangement of the Universe: The Application of Architectural Metaphor to Modern Physics

Abstract

The ultimate goal of physics is to construct an accurate cosmology: to search for explanations of how the universe itself is constructed at its most fundamental level, and how this proliferates to the effects we see on a human scale and beyond. The models of the universe that physics and its predecessors have produced over the centuries have each, in their own turn, influenced our perception of how the universe functions, from Ptolemy’s concentric spheres to the uncertain world of quantum mechanics.

The cosmology of how we believe the world is made affects how we arrange the world we build ourselves: how we group or organize the elements in our buildings, whether we think about objects or about voids, or the ratio and proportion of architectural features. While it is likely correlation due to a shared cultural zeitgeist and not direct causation in most cases, we can see a historical relationship between changes in dominant models of the universe and changes in architectural language. The discovery and acceptance of the heliocentric universe in the 16th and 17th centuries, for example, coincides with the increased use of ovals and other non-ideal shapes in architecture.

The revolutions of modern physics, since the late 19th century to the present day, have propagated into the popular consciousness and into art, but its effects on architecture are less clear. How can modern physics influence our perception of our place in the universe and the shape of architecture, and how can architecture be used to communicate the reverse?

I explore this question through the design of a museum of modern physics on Saint Mary’s University campus with exhibits focusing on Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and two potential theories of quantum gravity, using the design of each space to investigate how what the scientific discoveries on display say about how the universe is constructed.