The buildings gallery: visualizing buildings

• Published in: Journal of mathematics and the arts Vol. 16; no. 1-2; pp. 11 - 28
• Main Authors: Bekker, Bram, Solleveld, Maarten
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 03.04.2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Algorithms; Applications programs; BN-pairs; Buildings; geometric group theory; Geometry; Group theory; maths visualization; simplicial complexes; Teaching methods; Three dimensional models; Visualization
• ISSN: 1751-3472; 1751-3480
• DOI: 10.1080/17513472.2022.2063782

Buildings are beautiful mathematical objects tying a variety of subjects in algebra and geometry together in a very direct sense. They form a natural bridge to visualizing more complex principles in group theory. As such, they provide an opportunity to talk about the inner workings of mathematics to a broader audience, but the visualizations could also serve as a didactic tool in teaching group and building theory, and we believe they can even inspire future research. We present an algorithmic method to visualize these geometric objects. The main accomplishment is the use of existing theory to produce three-dimensional, interactive models of buildings associated with groups with a BN-pair. The final product, an interactive web application called The Buildings Gallery, can be found at https://buildings.gallery/ [Bekker, B. (2021, June). The Buildings Gallery].