Fractal Geometry in Architecture & Design

Bovill, Carl

ISBN 10: 0817637958 / ISBN 13: 9780817637958

Published by Birkhäuser, 1996

About this Item

1996; illustrated paper covered boards; spine edges bumped; corners slightly scuffed; 4to - over 9 3/4" to 12" tall; notations on front and rear end papers, otherwise interior clean and unmarked; 195 pages.

Seller Inventory # SKU1143372

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fractal Geometry in Architecture & Design
• Publisher: Birkhäuser
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0817637958
• ISBN 13: 9780817637958
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 19 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Carl Bovill is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland at College Park. He has taught at California State University in San Luis Obispo and at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He has received from the American Institute of Architects both an Education Honors Award, for technical systems integration in design instruction, and the AIA School Medal for excellence in the study of architecture.