Fractal Geometry In Architecture And Design

na broad sense Design Science is the grammar of a language of images Irather than of words. Modern communication techniques enable us to transmit and reconstitute images without needing to know a specific verbal sequence language such as the Morse code or Hungarian. International traffic signs use international image symbols which are not specific to any particular verbal language. An image language differs from a verbal one in that the latter uses a linear string of symbols, whereas the former is multi dimensional. Architectural renderings commonly show projections onto three mutual ly perpendicular planes, or consist of cross sections at different altitudes capa ble of being stacked and representing different floor plans. Such renderings make it difficult to imagine buildings comprising ramps and other features which disguise the separation between floors, and consequently limit the cre ative process of the architect. Analogously, we tend to analyze natural struc tures as if nature had used similar stacked renderings, rather than, for instance, a system of packed spheres, with the result that we fail to perceive the system of organization determining the form of such structures. Perception is a complex process. Our senses record; they are analogous to audio or video devices. We cannot, however, claim that such devices perceive.

Throughout history, nature has served as an inspiration for architecture and designers have tried to incorporate the harmonies and patterns of nature into architectural form. Alberti, Charles Renee Macintosh, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Le Courbusier are just a few of the well- known figures who have taken this approach and written on this theme. With the development of fractal geometry--the study of intricate and interesting self- similar mathematical patterns--in the last part of the twentieth century, the quest to replicate nature’s creative code took a stunning new turn. Using computers, it is now possible to model and create the organic, self-similar forms of nature in a way never previously realized. In Fractal Architecture, architect James Harris presents a definitive, lavishly illustrated guide that explains both the “how” and “why” of incorporating fractal geometry into architectural design.

Fractal analysis is a method for measuring, analysing and comparing the formal or geometric properties of complex objects. In this book it is used to investigate eighty-five buildings that have been designed by some of the twentieth-century’s most respected and celebrated architects. Including designs by Le Corbusier, Eileen Gray, Frank Lloyd Wright, Robert Venturi, Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Richard Meier and Kazuyo Sejima amongst others, this book uses mathematics to analyse arguments and theories about some of the world’s most famous designs. Starting with 625 reconstructed architectural plans and elevations, and including more than 200 specially prepared views of famous buildings, this book presents the results of the largest mathematical study ever undertaken into architectural design and the largest single application of fractal analysis presented in any field. The data derived from this study is used to test three overarching hypotheses about social, stylistic and personal trends in design, along with five celebrated arguments about twentieth-century architecture. Through this process the book offers a unique mathematical insight into the history and theory of design.

Fractals are characterized by the repetition of similar patterns at ever-diminishing scales. Fractal geometry has emerged as one of the most exciting frontiers on the border between mathematics and information technology and can be seen in many of the swirling patterns produced by computer graphics. It has become a new tool for modeling in biology, geology, and other natural sciences. Anthropologists have observed that the patterns produced in different cultures can be characterized by specific design themes. In Europe and America, we often see cities laid out in a grid pattern of straight streets and right-angle corners. In contrast, traditional African settlements tend to use fractal structures-circles of circles of circular dwellings, rectangular walls enclosing ever-smaller rectangles, and streets in which broad avenues branch down to tiny footpaths with striking geometric repetition. These indigenous fractals are not limited to architecture; their recursive patterns echo throughout many disparate African designs and knowledge systems. Drawing on interviews with African designers, artists, and scientists, Ron Eglash investigates fractals in African architecture, traditional hairstyling, textiles, sculpture, painting, carving, metalwork, religion, games, practical craft, quantitative techniques, and symbolic systems. He also examines the political and social implications of the existence of African fractal geometry. His book makes a unique contribution to the study of mathematics, African culture, anthropology, and computer simulations.

Bestselling author and astrophysicist Mario Livio examines the lives and theories of history’s greatest mathematicians to ask how—if mathematics is an abstract construction of the human mind—it can so perfectly explain the physical world. Nobel Laureate Eugene Wigner once wondered about “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics” in the formulation of the laws of nature. Is God a Mathematician? investigates why mathematics is as powerful as it is. From ancient times to the present, scientists and philosophers have marveled at how such a seemingly abstract discipline could so perfectly explain the natural world. More than that—mathematics has often made predictions, for example, about subatomic particles or cosmic phenomena that were unknown at the time, but later were proven to be true. Is mathematics ultimately invented or discovered? If, as Einstein insisted, mathematics is “a product of human thought that is independent of experience,” how can it so accurately describe and even predict the world around us? Physicist and author Mario Livio brilliantly explores mathematical ideas from Pythagoras to the present day as he shows us how intriguing questions and ingenious answers have led to ever deeper insights into our world. This fascinating book will interest anyone curious about the human mind, the scientific world, and the relationship between them.

Fractal Architecture: Design for Sustainability fills the gap between concepts of sustainability and the practice of environmental design. It is based on the assumption that sustainability and environmental design are not just industrial era (Modernist) design in green clothing, but a whole new direction with its own philosophy, techniques and expression. While this book is radical in the amount of change it calls for in environmental design professions and practice, it is conservative in emphasizing the traditional concerns of designers with geometry, history and aesthetics. Great effort has been made to integrate the text and graphics of this book in the spirit of holism inherent in sustainability.

This book is meant to serve either as a textbook for an interdisciplinary course in Mathematics of Design, or as a trade book for designers. It will also be of interest for people interested in recreational mathematics showing the connection between mathematics and design. Topics from the book can also be adapted for use in pre-college mathematics. Each chapter will provide the user with ideas that can be incorporated in a design. Background materials will be provided to show the reader the mathematical principles that lie behind the designs.

Fractal geometry is a uniquely fascinating area of mathematics, exhibited in a range of shapes that exist in the natural world, from a simple broccoli floret to a majestic mountain range. In this essential primer, mathematician Michael Frame—a close collaborator with Benoit Mandelbrot, the founder of fractal geometry—and poet Amelia Urry explore the amazing world of fractals as they appear in nature, art, medicine, and technology. Frame and Urry offer new insights into such familiar topics as measuring fractal complexity by dimension and the life and work of Mandelbrot. In addition, they delve into less-known areas: fractals with memory, the Mandelbrot set in four dimensions, fractals in literature, and more. An inviting introduction to an enthralling subject, this comprehensive volume is ideal for learning and teaching.