Mathematician James Stewart has been compared to John Grisham because of how well his calculus books sell. He made millions off his textbooks, which have been translated into 12 languages. Last year, 500,000 copies of his books sold, raking in around $26.6 million, a member of his estate told The Guardian. He used many of those millions to build a marvel of a house.
It’s called the Integral House and has curves reminiscent of mathematical symbols. Following Stewart’s death in December of last year, the 18,000-square-foot home is now on sale for about $17,560,000 million through Sotheby’s.
The former McMaster University professor hired Howard Sutcliffe and Brigitte Shim of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects to build the four-bedroom house in Toronto. The five-level house cost $24 million and took six years to build. Some of the other unique features include a staircase with hand-blown blue glass surrounding it, heated limestone floors, an elevator, heated driveways and walkways, and ravine views.
Stewart was also a violinist (“I thought that it’s easier to be a mathematician whose hobby is music than a musician whose hobby is mathematics,” he said in a documentary about his life, Integral Man), and his love of music led him to incorporate a 200-person-capacity concert space into the structure. A number of events have been held there, including Philip Glass playing at a fundraiser. Stewart hosted organizations that reflected his views and interests; he was heavily involved in LGBT activism since the 1970s, according to The Daily Xtra. Before his death from multiple myeloma, Stewart said he hoped the benefit concerts would continue.
“My books and my house are my twin legacies,” Stewart told The Wall Street Journal. “If I hadn’t commissioned this house, I’m not sure what I would spend the money on.”
