This huge representation of a Ukrainian Easter egg (or pysanka) is located in
Vegreville, Alberta, Canada. (Veg--as is is locally referred to--rhymes with "egg".)
It was constructed in 1975 as an acknowledgement of the number of immigrants from Ukraine
that settled in the area in the early twentieth century.
At the time, it had a number of "firsts" associated with it:
• first mathematical or geometric definition of an egg shape
• first practical application of the theory of mathematical curve definition known as B-splines
• first architectural shell structure in which the surface completely closes on itself
• first authentic egg shape to be built as a structure
• first practical realization of an engineering technique which can build any surface form
by replication of only two standardized model elements
• first architectural structure where both computer-aided design and computer-aided
manufacturing techniques are employed to create the structural skin
• first architectural structure in which all of the pieces are literally made from the
drawing board, i.e., each piece is cut out on a numeric-controlled drafting table
• first architectural structure in which every part has an engraved name determined by
its relative location in the structure. It can then be completely assembled by
unskilled labor with only the aid of a chart.
Ron Resch, a computer scientist at the University of Utah, and his colleagues developed
and engineered the physical structure. Traditional designs, motifs, and symbols
were adapted to the computer grid by Paul Sembaliuk.
[Source: sign at the site]
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