Full Width 
Shortcuts 
Sign Up 
Log In 
Articles 
Reading List More from The Wandering Cartographer
I was flipping through Owen Jones’s Grammar of Ornament a couple months ago, and my eye was caught by this handsome pattern I had not noticed before. This is Jones’s Plate XLII, in the chapter on designs from the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. He calls it, “Part of the ceiling of the Portico of the … Continue reading Constructing the Pattern on the Sala de la Barca Ceiling →
(This is the math geek part about the Sala de la Barca ceiling. For instructions on constructing the pattern with compass and straightedge, go over to Part 1.) In the process of figuring out how to draw this pattern, I ran into a lot of questions, and had to do more than a little math … Continue reading The Mathematics of the Pattern on the Sala de la Barca Ceiling →
Nord de Guerre Here’s a survey plat made in 1919 by a US Army unit in France. In the aftermath of WW1, teams of American military surveyors produced these as they went around France mapping the grave sites of fallen soldiers. On this plat we can see a number of bearings and distances from the … Continue reading Transforming French WW1 Lambert Coordinates to WGS84 →
This story begins one day when I was assembling a map of the city of Edmonton, Alberta from OpenStreetMap data. It was going to be a big map, a 42″ (106 cm) wide poster for a wall. The data was good, but the standard OSM colours were not. They would work fine for a street … Continue reading Cartographic palettes and colour harmonies →
Now that we know our way around the pattern (go back to Part 1), it should be fairly straightforward to construct with a compass and straightedge. But be aware: any pattern that requires you to construct a pentagon is an advanced challenge. They are trickier to make than squares or hexagons. Here’s what we want … Continue reading Constructing Bourgoin’s Figure 171 – Part 2 →
More in architecture
Tucked into a five-acre wooded site just outside Seattle, Washington, the Interurban Residence is a quietly bold family home designed by Heliotrope Architects. Created for a family of four, this home turns its back on urban hustle and instead reaches deep into the forest, embracing sun, air, and natural materials with equal parts elegance and restraint. With interiors crafted by Amy Baker Interior Design and a landscape thoughtfully composed by Land Morphology, Interurban feels not simply placed within the forest, but deeply rooted in it.
Wind wars, ALARA, power plant water use, grassroots opposition to data centers, and more.
Located in Vila Mariana, one of São Paulo’s most traditional neighborhoods, this small apartment (398 square feet or 37 square meters) is a standout example of how compact living can be redefined through intelligent design. With interior design by RMV Interiores, the renovation focused on vertical space optimization and a contemporary material palette that balances efficiency with refined aesthetics.
AI is a tool for design, no more, no less. Humans are the creators.
In the US solar energy has steadily risen in how much of our electricity it supplies.
