Golden Mean Plaza

Golden Mean Plaza is the main entrance of Ma Wan Park. Its design intent is to express the harmony between nature and human’s creation, thus both its feature designs and the layout are built under the theme of Golden Ratio. The first creation you will see here is the lifelike sculpture of a nautilus shell. The proportion between the radius of the two circles of tentacles is 1.618, a key number that often represents the golden ratio. The same ratio can also be found between the length and width of leaves throughout the park. What’s more, the proportion between the body length and the width of wings of the butterflies flying in the garden is close to 0.618. Let’s take a stroll through nature and art, and experience the aesthetics that the “golden mean” brings upon all creatures!

Ma Wan Park - Fun facts
What is the Golden Ratio?

In nature, the proportion of living organism provides a balanced and harmonious form of beauty as reference. In mathematics, this is called the Golden Ratio. In the 12th century, Leonardo Fibonacci discovered a simple numerical series that lays the foundation for the incredible mathematical equation behind the Golden Ratio. Starting with 0 and 1, each new number in the series is simply the sum of the two before it. 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144… to infinity. In the series, any number divided by the previous number is approximately 1.618, or if divided by the subsequent number, to be close to 0.618. 

Examples of the Golden Ratio in nature and its applications:
Sun flower, pine cone, Egyptian pyramids, ancient Greek sculpture “Venus de Milo”, ancient Greek temple the Parthenon, the famous painting “Mona Lisa”, etc.