Piet Hein (1905-1996) was a Danish philosopher, poet and mathematician. A truly great mind, Piet Hein was unequivocal in his commitment to both the arts and science: indeed, he was like ‘a modern variant of Leonardo da Vinci.’ (Source: Piet Hein).Portrait of Piet Hein.The superellipseA 1965 article in the periodical Scientific American, outlined Piet Hein’s approach to solving a city planning conundrum in Stockholm’s centre. The problem concerned facilitating the smooth flow of traffic around the planned Sergels Torg, a new central public square in the Swedish capital. Rejecting both elliptical and rectangular solutions for the ‘square’ as unworkable, the architects consulted with Piet Hein: his solution was the superellipse, ‘a happy blend of elliptical and rectangular beauty.’ (Source: Scientific American, September 1965 via Piet Hein).Sergels Torg in Stockholm, Sweden (Image source).The superellipse would inspire answers to architectural dilemmas in other regions around the world, as well as finding a practical application in furniture design. Swedish furniture designer and architect Bruno Mathsson adopted Piet Hein’s superellipse, designing a series of ‘Superellips‘ tables in 1964.‘Superellips’ by Bruno Mathsson. Image © Bruno Mathsson International AB.Super-Elliptical? tableIn collaboration with Bruno Mathsson and Arne Jacobsen, Piet Hein used the concept of the superellip...