Fractals

A tree divides into branches, then smaller branches, then twigs. The related pattern continues as the scale changes. Fractal geometry offers a way to describe aspects of this organisation, including how densely detail fills a shape. It gives the familiar complexity of natural forms a subject that can be studied.

Hagerhall and colleagues investigated EEG responses while people viewed fractal patterns. Their work contributes to research on relationships between pattern complexity and human response. For architecture, it opens an interesting possibility: the organisation of detail may matter alongside what a pattern represents.

A surface can therefore be examined through the relationships between its larger form and smaller parts. Structure, joints and grain may each become apparent at a different distance. The material and the way it is assembled can supply an order that continues to reward attention on approach. This is a design interpretation of the pattern research, with the occupied room introducing a much longer and more varied experience than the experimental image.

The pattern still has an architectural job. It may articulate the construction, give a large area a comprehensible order or provide detail close to a seat. Choosing it for that purpose makes its contribution available for judgement in the room where it belongs.