The Fractal Dimension Of Architecture Form

The conflict between architecture and complexity science has been existent for over 30 years,and the nature of the relationship in recent years has turned to the main point of the fractal geometry.Architectures based on the fractal geometry has been widely constructed and literatures centered on the subject began to emerge like a bamboo shoots after a spring rain.Though some architectures in history possessed of the typical fractal features,like Medieval Castles,Baroque church,Indian temple architecture or Wright or Sullivan's works, they were not created by consciously applying fractal theories.However,the results of these practices have proved the fractal's application value in the design of architecture form.Due to the lack of the insight into the mathematics,the contemporary professional architects to a large extent ignore the rational mathematical analysis of fractal in their designing.In fact,behind the complexity of fractal's phenomenon is the simple generation rules., which could explain the process of self-organization of the nature.Meanwhile,its self-similar principles and calibration changing invariant facilitate people' better understanding of the world.The characteristics of complexity reduction,iteration and consecutive hierarchy of scales advocated by fractal theories provide the theoretical basis for architecture's return to human scale.Fractal graphics subvert the traditional aesthetics of symmetry and balance standards to form a new kind of harmony and balance between the whole and its parts,and between the various parts of the hierarchy scales.It's not just a new form of modeling pattern organization,but a designing means which can be measured.The integrated design in-between the architectures and architectures and the environment can be fulfilled through the conception of dimension.The iteration in the evolution of human culture also make the architecture with the fractal characteristics of culture.After discussing the detailed integrating methods of fractal theories and architecture from the form of architectural elements,structure and aesthetics,this paper puts forward a new fractal form language for architecture:space fractal,fractal structure,fractal,surface and fractal culture,those of which represent the complexity reduction,the interaction and symbiosis of the whole and its parts,and the diachronic narrative of fractal thinking when fractal theory is concretely applied to architectural forms.