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Characteristic Visual Complexity: Fractal Dimensions in the Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier

In: Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future

Author

Listed:
  • Michael J. Ostwald

    (University of Newcastle, School of Architecture and Built Environment)

  • Josephine Vaughan

    (University of Newcastle, School of Architecture and Built Environment)

  • Chris Tucker

    (University of Newcastle, School of Architecture and Built Environment)

Abstract

In the late 1970s Mandelbrot argued that natural systems frequently possess characteristic geometric or visual complexity over multiple scales of observation, suggesting that systems which have evolved over time may exhibit certain local visual qualities that also possess deep structural resonance. In mathematics this led to the formulation of fractal geometry and was central to the rise of the sciences of non-linearity and complexity. This concept was developed in relation to architectural design and urban planning, and architectural scholars have suggested that such approaches might be used in the analysis of historic buildings. At the heart of this approach, in both its theoretical and computational forms, is a set of rules for analysing buildings. However, the assumptions implicit in this method have never been adequately questioned. This chapter returns to the origins of the conventional “box counting” method of fractal analysis for historic buildings to reconsider the initial interpretations of the architecture of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael J. Ostwald & Josephine Vaughan & Chris Tucker, 2015. "Characteristic Visual Complexity: Fractal Dimensions in the Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier," Springer Books, in: Kim Williams & Michael J. Ostwald (ed.), Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 339-354, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-319-00143-2_22
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-00143-2_22
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