Fractal Architecture
Fractal Architecture
Fractal Architecture
Fig. 1. A classical Doric entablature (left) has a remarkable similarity with the
Devil’s Staircase1 (right). Picture credits: Andrew Crompton
A second way in which fractal geometry can be related to architecture is to use some of
its typical measurement techniques to analyse the structure of buildings. Many readers are
perhaps familiar with the box counting dimension, which is a measure for the recursiveness
Nexus Network Journal 9 (2007) 311-320 NEXUS NETWORK JOURNAL – VOL. 9, NO. 2, 2007 311
1590-5896/07/020311-10 DOI 10.1007/s00004-007-0045-y
© 2007 Kim Williams Books, Turin
of detail on ever smaller scales.2 Carl Bovill [1996] has applied this method to different
building styles. He found that Wright’s organic architecture shows a ‘cascade of detail’ on
different scales, while in Le Corbusier’s modernist architecture, the box counting
dimension quickly drops to 1 for smaller scales. This finding is consistent with the fact that
‘Wright’s organic architecture called for materials to be used in a way that captured nature’s
complexity and order ... [while] Le Corbusier’s purism called for materials to be used in a
more industrial way, always looking for efficiency and purity of use’ [Bovill 1996, 143].
Similar to Bovill, Daniele Capo [2004] applied the box counting method to the classical
orders and found that there is detail up to 1/256th of the height of the entire order. Burkle-
Elizondo and Valdéz-Cepeda [2006] also used fractal measurement techniques to establish
the complexity of thirty-five Mesoamerican pyramids, and found that the monuments had
a fractal dimension of around 1.3.
Two-dimensional fractals in architecture
Let me now show how fractal forms are, and have been, integrated in architecture. On
first sight there does not seem to be an all-encompassing factor that binds the following
buildings together. Sometimes, the fractal form is an expression of a worldview or a social
idea, while on other occasions the architect just found it an attractive shape. Nevertheless,
in the final sections I tentatively propose that there is perhaps a deeper-lying reason why
such patterns are integrated in architecture, throughout all ages and cultures.
I start off with an overview of two-dimensional fractal forms in architecture, which are
mostly present in the ground plans of buildings. You can find this application in a wide
range of architectural structures, ranging from the plans of fortifications, to the
organization of traditional Ba-ilia villages (Zambia). The global form of the latter
settlements reoccurs in the family ring, which consists of individual houses, which are,
again, similar to the overall shape of the village.
Interestingly, the scaling hierarchies governing this whole are a reflection of the social
hierarchy in these communities [Eglash and Odumosu 2005]. As is noted by George
Hersey [1993], a fractal organization is also characteristic of the plan of Bramante’s design
for St. Peter’s in Rome:
Symmetrically clustered within the inside corners formed by the cross’s arms
are four miniature Greek crosses, that, together, make up the basic cube of
the church’s body. The arms of these smaller crosses consist of further
miniatures. And their corners, in turn, are filled in with smaller chapels and
niches. In other words, Bramante’s plan ... may be called fractal: it repeats
like units at different scales [Hersey 1993].
The fractal ground plan that has perhaps received most theoretical attention is Wright’s
Palmer House (Ann Arbor, Michigan). In order to understand its fractal character, it is
important to note that architects sometimes use a ‘module’ as the main organizational
element. In a sense, such an element can be understood as the conceptual ‘building block’
of the house (e.g., a circle). Wright often applied this procedure to his work. Initially, the
geometry governing his architecture created with the aid of such modules remained
Euclidean. In later works, however, these elements were sometimes so organized that they
gave the building a remarkable fractal organization. The Palmer House seems to be the
culmination point of this evolution. Here, one geometric module – an equilateral triangle –
Fig. 2. Ground plan of Wright’s Palmer House. Drawing by Eric Murrell, from [Eaton 1998].
Reproduced with permission, Kim Williams Books
Fig. 3. Federation Square, Melbourne (Lab Architecture Studio). Picture credits: Steven Connor
But do there exist instances of modern architecture where the fractal component is
eminently three-dimensional – where it pertains to the architectural form and/or structure?
Such appropriations seem rare. On the Internet I came along the website “Fractal
Architecture” (http://www.fractalarchitect.com), which shows building designs that are the
result of marrying fractal principles and modernist forms. In the twentieth century Russian
artist Malevich has created a series of architectural designs (Arkhitektoiniki) of which some
have a remarkable fractal component. In one example, the main architectural form is
surrounded by smaller versions of the whole building, which are again surrounded by even
smaller fragments. The relation between their number and size is claimed to obey a 1/f
relation. More recently, Steven Holl Architects’ Simmons Hall has been related to fractal
geometry, because it is inspired by a sponge whose openings have a fractal distribution.
For other eminent examples of three-dimensional fractal architecture, you have to go
back in time. Sometimes it is noted that some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s cathedral designs are
fractal, because the domes are repeated for different sizes. However, this example (and the
previous ones) cannot meet up to the profound fractal character of certain Hindu temples
Fig. 6. Gothic architecture (City Hall, Bruges). The arched form reoccurs throughout the building
façade on different hierarchical scales