Evaluating Street Character Using the 3D Fractal Analysis Method: Lefkoşa

Abstract

The aim of this article is to reveal the mathematical dimension behind the complex structure of architectural fabric through a three-dimensional analysis. Given that the architectural character, which has evolved under the influence of various cultures over time, is crucial for urban integrity and sustainability, understanding the mathematical dimension underlying this character is of great importance for new designs and interventions in existing urban fabric. Therefore, streets in the Arabahmet neighbourhood of Lefkoşa Suriçi, which best represents the traditional fabric, were examined using a three-dimensional fractal analysis method. The analyses indicate that, in general, the fractal dimension values of the residential fabric-created streets are above 2.52, demonstrating a high level of character and complexity in these streets. Additionally, the fractal dimension values of these streets are close to each other, supporting the spatial and mass consistency of different streets within the same neighbourhood.

Keywords

• Cube-counting method
• 3D fractal analysis
• Fractal dimension
• Fractal geometry
• Lefkoşa

References

1. Abdelsalam, M., & Ibrahım, M. (2019). Fractal Dimension of Islamic Architecture: the Case of the Mameluke Madrasas: Al-sultan Hassan Madrasa, Gazi University Journal of Science, 32(1), 27-37.
2. Akçay, A.Ö. (2006). Mimari Kimlik Değişimini Etkileyen Faktörler Üzerine Bir Araştırma Kıbrıs-Lefkoşa Örneği, PhD Thesis, Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul.
3. Atak Doğan, Ö. & Çağdaş, G. (2017). Karmaşık Kentsel Oluşumları Anlamada Fraktaller: Germir, Erciyes Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 31(43), 25-44.
4. Bakshi, A. (2012). A Shell of Memory: The Cyprus Conflict and Nicosia’s Walled City. Memory Studies. 5(4), 479-496.
5. Batty, M., & Longley, P. (1994). Fractal Cities: A Geometry of Form and Function, Academic Press, San Diego, CA and London.
6. Ben-Hamouche, M. (2009). Complexity of Urban Fabric in Traditional Muslim Cities: Importing Old Wisdom to Present Cities, Urban Design International, 14(1), 22-35.
7. Bovill, C. (1996). Fractal Geometry in Architecture and Design, Boston: Birkhäuser.
8. Cooper, J. (2003). Fractal Assessment of Street-level Skylines: A Possible Means of Assessing and Comparing Character, Urban Morphology, 7(2), 73–82.

9. Cooper, J. (2005). Assessing Urban Character: the Use of Fractal Analysis of Street Edges, Urban Morphology. 9(2), 95–107.
10. Demi, D. (1997). The Walled City of Nicosia-Typology Study, Nicosia Master Plan, Nicosia, United Nations Development Programme.
11. Ediz, Ö., & Çağdaş, G. (2005). Mimari Tasarımda Fraktal Kurguya Dayalı Üretken Bir Yaklaşım, İTÜdergisi/a, Mimarlık, planlama, tasarım, 4(1), 71-83.
12. Ediz, Ö., & Ostwald, M.J. (2012). The Suleymaniye Mosque: a Computational Fractal Analysis of Visual Complexity and Layering in Sinan’s Masterwork, ARQ Architectural Research Quarterly, 16(2), 171–182.
13. Gürdallı, H., & Koldaş, U. (2017). Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti’nden Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti’nin Inşasına Giden Süreçte Lefkoşa’da Mekânın ve Mimarinin Siyasi Dönüşümü: 1963-1983, Journal of History Culture and Art Research, 6(4), 748-772.
14. Gürkan, H. (1989). Dünkü ve Bugünkü Lefkoşa, Nicosia: Lefkoşa Belediye Yayınları.
15. HadjiChristos, C. (2005). Nicosia: Its Space and its d-visions, Space Syntax Symposium, 2(3).
16. İlhan C., & Ediz, Ö. (2019). Kent Dokusu Morfolojik Değişiminin Fraktal Geometri Aracılığıyla Hesaplanması: Bursa Örneği, Mimarlık ve Yaşam Dergisi, 4(1), 117-140.
17. Kaya, H.S., & Bölen, F. (2006). Kentsel Mekân Organizasyonundaki Farklılıkların Fraktal Analiz Yöntemi ile Değerlendirilmesi, Journal of istanbul Kültür University. 4(4), 153-172.
18. Liu, S., & Chen, Y. (2022). A Three-Dimensional Box-Counting Method to Study the Fractal Characteristics of Urban Areas in Shenyang, Northeast China, Buildings, 12(3), 299.
19. Lorenz, W.E. (2003). Fractals and Fractal Architecture, Masters Dissertation, Department of Computer Aided Planning and Architecture, Vienna University of Technology.
20. Lorenz, W.E. (2009). Fractal Geometry of Architecture – Implementation of the Box-Counting Method in a CAD-Software, Proceedings of eCAADe, 697-704.
21. Oppong, R., Marful, A., & Asare, E. (2017). Improving Urban Visibility through Fractal Analysis of street Edges: the Case of John Evans Atta Mills High Street in Accra, Ghana, Frontiers of Architectural Research, 6(2), 248-260
22. Ostwald, M.J., & Vaughan, J. (2008). Determining the Fractal Dimension of the Architecture of Eileen Gray, ANZASCA, 9-16.
23. Ostwald, M.J., Vaughan, J., & Chalup, S.K. (2009). Data-cluster Analysis of Correlations between Façade Complexity and Orientation in Modernist Architecture, ANZASCA,729-736.
24. Ostwald, M.J., & Ediz, Ö. (2015). Measuring Form, Ornament and Materiality in Sinan’s Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque: an Analysis Using Fractal Dimensions, Nexus Network Journal, 17(1), 5-22.
25. Qin, J., Fang, C., Wang, Y., Li, Q., & Zhang, Y. (2015). A Three Dimensional Box-counting Method for Estimating Fractal Dimension of Urban Form, Geographical Research, 34(1), 85-96.
26. Rian, I.M., Park, J.H., Ahn, H.U., & Chang, D. (2007). Fractal Geometry as the Synthesis of Hindu Cosmology in Kandariya Mahadev Temple. Khajuraho, Building and Environment, 42(12), 4093-4107.
27. Samper, A., & Herrera, B. (2014). The Fractal Pattern of the French Gothic Cathedrals, Nexus Network Journal, 16(2), 251-271.
28. Shishin, M.Y., & Ismail, K.J.A. (2016). A Method of Compositional Fractal Analysis and its Application in Islamic Architectural Ensembles, International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 11(5), 1087-1100.
29. Terzidis, K. (2006). Algorithmic Architecture, Oxford, Elsevier Architectural Press.
30. Terzidis, K. (2009). Algorithms for Visual Design Using the Processing Language, John Wiley & Sons.
31. Vaughan, J., & Ostwald, M.J. (2008). Approaching Euclidean Limits: A Fractal Analysis of the Architecture of Kazuyo Sejima. ANZASCA, 285-294.
32. Vaughan, J., & Ostwald, M.J. (2009). Nature and Architecture: Revisiting the Fractal Connection in Amasya and Sea Ranch, Performative Ecologies in the Built Environment: Sustainability Research Across Disciplines.
33. Vaughan, J., & Ostwald, M.J. (2010). Using Fractal Analysis to Compare the Characteristic Complexity of Nature and Architecture: Re-examining the Evidence, Architectural Science Review, 53(3), 323-332.
34. Wen, K.C., & Kao, Y.N. (2005). An Analytic Study of Architectural Design Style by Fractal Dimension Method, 22nd International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, 367-372.