Casa da Música: A Lever for STEAM Projects

The development of STEAM projects in the context of connections between mathematics and architecture can start from the analysis and modelling of objects. Students can be encouraged to identify objects within the art and architecture of their city or region, using them as a starting point to explore mathematical concepts with which they are already familiar or to research new mathematical topics, taking advantage of support from technology. A notable architectural wonder to be explored in this context is the Casa da Música, a building in Porto, designed by the renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The polyhedral shape of this iconic building presents an intriguing challenge that can be explored effectively using mathematical modeling tools like GeoGebra. To this end, we will first present a 3D model of this building, based on a polyhedron planning created by the OMA/ARUP office for a commemorative model that took place in 2005. Next, we will discuss the potential of modeling a spherical tile associated with the polyhedral building. Through this discussion/exploration, we aim to make a valuable contribution to the use of GeoGebra in the analysis of asymmetrical architectural models, assisting teachers in guiding their students through similar challenges and highlighting intriguing connections between architectural design and some mathematical topics.