Fractal Concepts Applied to Architectural and Design Criticism

Abstract

Architectural forms are man-made and thus very much based in Euclidean geometry. However, in his book The Fractal Geometry of Nature, Mandelbrot makes the following comparison: The fractal new geometric art shows surprising kinship to Grand Master paintings or Beaux Arts architecture. An obvious reason is that classical visual arts, like fractals, involve very many scales of length and favor self similarity. Modern mathematics, music, painting, and architecture may seem to be related to one another. But this is a superficial impression, notably in the context of architecture. A Mies van der Rohe building is a scale bound throwback to Euclid, while a high period Beaux Arts building is rich in fractal aspects.