Application of fractals in Interior design: Contemporary Style

Revised 8/7/2019 11:00:00

Harshitha Nama1 and C.H.Srinivas, Srishti Srivastava2

1
JNAFAU University, Hyderabad, Department of Interior design
E-mail address: sai6jan1996@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the potential of application of fractal geometry in design. It begins with summarizing the
fundamental mathematical principles, and application they had so far in design. The application of these fractals
with help of computational design methodology which is established in 21 st century. Fractals are more than a design
or abstract mathematical problem. They are essential foundation of art and architecture –ma sensibility that can
employ in developing inherently pleasing, elegant and lasting design.

Keywords: Fractals, patterns, interiors, nature, robotic fabrication, 3d printing.

Methodology: The research follows the descriptive

I. INTRODUCTION methodology to describe the fractals kinds and properties and
applied methodology in furniture design inspired from fractals.
Since antiquity artists and philosophers have advised us to
DESIGN FROM NATURE. Across dozens of periods , in
II. PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF
designs for material, structure, form and ornament their advice
has proved sound. But only in last quarter of the 20 th century FRACTALS ON HUMAN MIND:
have we devised the tools (namely, mathematical computer It is very important to code the correct Word Style for each
modeling). , but that all of these trends were united in the basic paragraph, Fractal visuals influence human beings during the
inspiration. performance of stressful mental work.
Beneficial, restorative environments dampen the inevitable
A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely rise in physiological stress while performing a necessary task
complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. requiring concentration. The opposite, those environments that
They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in actually boost the stress levels of normal mental concentration,
an ongoing feedback loop. should be considered harmful to our health in the long term.
Despite the voluminous literature on learning and workplace
Geometrically, they exist in between our familiar dimensions. environments, the effect of fractal scenes on reducing stress has
Fractal patterns are extremely familiar, since nature is full of not yet assumed the central importance it deserves. instead, we
fractals. For instance: trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, continue to see the same stress-raising environments reproduced
clouds, seashells, hurricanes, etc. Abstract fractals – such as the in new offices, work environments, and schools of all types.
Mandelbrot Set – can be generated by a computer calculating a Apologists for continuing such typologies insist on a largely
simple equation over and over. Only in the past century have mythical industrial efficiency, stylistic “honesty”,
mathematicians developed an understanding of such common We could, on the other hand, use recent scientific results such
phenomena as snowflakes, clouds, coastlines, lightning bolts, as the work reported here to drastically re-design learning and
rivers, patterns in vegetation, and the trajectory of molecules in working environments. There exist sufficient preliminary results
Brownian motion (Dalton Allan- 2010). to do this. It is surprising from a scientific point of view, but
This branch of mathematics is known as fractal. Fractals force expected, considering the inertia of the design establishment,
us to alter our view of dimensionality, produce patterns from that direct research on how people are affected by the fractal
nearly identical starting positions, and have real world qualities of their environment is still only of marginal interest.
applications in nature and human creations. Some architectures One would think that this ought to be a central topic for
and interior designers turn to draw inspiration from the investigation, to which society should devote major effort and
decorative formations, geometric and funding. Too much of what is taken for granted, but which is
dynamic properties of fractals in their designs which enriched the shown to be wrong by experiments, relies upon personal
field of architecture and interior design, and benefited from them by opinion. But when individuals are asked what they like, they
adding functional and aesthetic values to design. invariably give back what they are taught as the prevailing
Hypotheses: Designing contemporary furniture inspired from opinion, thus perpetuating opinions that obscure facts. It is time
fractals adds functional and aesthetic values to design.
 for us to correct this deficit of information on the design of the
built environment.

III. FRACTALS APPLICATIONS

The designers had begun copying natural fractals for
inspiration to build successful devices. Below there are just a
few examples of fractals being used in architecture, interior
design and furniture.

3.1 Fractals Applications in Architecture:

Fractal geometry may help us to understand and analyze
complexity that can be found in towns of the Middle Ages but
also in cathedrals and other man-made objects up to these days.
It may also help us to transfer this complexity, which also arises
from the development over time, to newly planned cities and
buildings – cities and buildings may then also be reduced to
simpler algorithms (Wolfgang E. Lorenz – 2003)

3.2 Fractals Applications in interior design:

Interior designers used fractals shapes to decorate and design
interior spaces to benefit from their formation values and 3.4 Reconsidering today’s interiors:
properties of fractals in design and add functional and aesthetic In commenting on the foundation of his own nature oriented
values to design. architecture of biorelsm in the 1950. Richard neutra observed
that “no one laments the monotony of a tree”. He , in fact
insisted on the views from this interiors to trees, clouds and
horizontal lines. Subsequent scientific studies have proved him
correct about both the human and health and psychological
benefits of such design practices. Views of trees and natural
3.3 Fractals Applications in furniture: landscapes positively influences recovery from surgery,
Furniture designers design their products using fractals shapes productivity of the office work and even rates of low prisoners
to benefit from their formation values and properties of fractals recidivism.
in design and to add functional and aesthetic values to design But compare for the movement the fractal order of nature
with the environment of a typical modern office building or
setting. If natural multi fractal environments represent our
species’ historical biological experience – the context that
people encountered nearly everywhere until just a hundred or so
years ago – then there is little doubt that the monotonous
homogeny today’s “ cube farm” office environments represents
both radial departure and a very real shock to our system.
It is as if with the introduction of the digital age, we have put
the whole focus on the display screen before us rather than the
work habitat tat supports and sustains the use of such
technology.
We ignore our natural environment heritage at our own social
and psylogogical peril. In work places around the world, studies
have shown that human health and function are comprised by
 prolonged immersions in visually monotonous environments particularly attuned to differences in the fractal dimensions of
conversely, the green and sustainable building movements have both visual and aural compositions. So fractal design
repeatedly demonstrated that human health and performance are manipulation provide a means of influencing human sensory
enhanced by environmentally conscious building. perception at an early and effective stage.
But, why should buildings that are good for he planet be good History has already shown, however, tat fractal expressions
or people? Because they reproduce, either literally or need not be sheer reproductions of natural forms , and
analogously, the right combination of environmental qualities particularly once some algorithmic tools are assembled, it is a
(like day light, views, temperature gradients, textures, patterns more select and deliberate development of fractal applications
and colors) that are biologically crucial to our ancestors survival that likely has the most promise.
Green building are good for people when, by intent or
accident, they reproduce positive environmental conditions to IV. FRACTALS IN DESIGN WITH MICHELE
which we are genetically preselected. And each of us here today ALFANO:
has an un broken line of at least 1,00,000 generations of
ancestors who spent most of their life's in the natural world. Michaele alfano have always found Fractals fascinating. They
While no guaranteed to do so, so many ecological design hold the secret on how our universe is designed. She studied
strategies incidentally produce the kinds of fractal orderings our how self-similar patterns formed from complex equations repeat
psyches were evolutionarily meant to engage itself at different scales from the microscopic to the cosmic. Her
gravitate towards a repetitive geometric design and it is this
kind of work that grabs attention and architectural eye.
3.5 Fractals in future interior designs: A new way of making interlocking textiles was realized in the
All these examples (and many others) show that throughout the fractal nature of a snowflake in one of Victoria Secret’s
human history, fractals have been revered, replicated and Fashion shows. Victoria Secret and Swarovski went to
reproduced in many different ways-in nature as well as in art Architect Bradley Rothenberg with 3D printing Specialist Shape
and architectural and interiors. In 21st century, we have both this ways to create the Snow Queen’s fractal snowflake-inspired
newly recognized history plus the computational tools necessary corset. Fractal’s seemed to have a lot of potential because the
to pursue further applications of fractal design. Where might same geometry could repeat & interlock with itself, while
these lead, and what might they provide? changing scale creating a textile that could have different
In fashion design, Danielle gaine’s company aves , Inc. has performance characteristics throughout. The end result was a
directly incorporated the visualization of abstract fractal textile that grew out of an organization of small textile-like
mathematics info women’s active wear. These type patterns are snowflakes to larger structural snowflakes. The 3D printed
produced by the solutions sets to equation involving imaginary lingerie was made out of nylon and coated with thousands of
numbers, and so are not very “natural” in appearance. Such gorgeous light catching Swarovski crystals.
patterns are highly distinctive and may come into periodic Pratt’s team concept “Transcending Darkness” used an uplifting
fashion like the tie-dyes of 1970 but are likely to remain a niche light sculpture of numerous hanging individual triangles. Each
use of fractals for interiors. triangle represents the 36.9 million people who are living with
This practice of combining fractals and artistic judgment into HIV today. The mirrored reflection multiplied the density of the
surface covering like wall papers, carpets, panel fabrics, and light formation. The density of triangles disappearing
surface finishes is likely to become a preferred way of represented the hope that the virus will decrease and eventually
incorporating fractals into products, in part because it connotes disappear. Quite powerful in person
the naturalistic imaginary generated in worldwide movement
toward sustainable design.
History has already shown, however, tat fractal expressions
need not be sheer reproductions of natural forms , and
particularly once some algorithmic tools are assembled, it is a
more select and deliberate development of fractal applications
that likely has the most promise.
This is because recent studies in experimental psychology
have shown that fractal structures seemingly provide the basis
for much of our early sensory information processing, and even
actively engage certain processes of short term memory. Fractal
textures also determine perceived complexity in scenes of high
visual depth, preserve our discrimination of surface slant, and
give us a better estimation of visual depth. And we seem
 V. CONCLUSION

The realization that the biologically preferred natural

environment for humans is one that exhibits particular levels of
fractal orders is now rewriting our interpretations of many
interiors studies that previously investigated design effects on
human preferences, performance and well being. The arguable
intrinsic value of window views onto natural landscapes now
becomes reasonable in terms of access to fractal qualities such
views provide
Some recent proprietary studies on heavily computerized
knowledge workplaces have already shown hoe fractal interior
designs can improve visual search and information recall,
reduce stress, and maintain personal energy levels. While
preliminary, they strongly suggest that interior design with the
tight fractal composition can significantly affect our emotional
well-being and cognitive performance
Interior design aims for such goals already, of course, but it
hasn't had a universal theory upon which to interpret and
integrate efforts of individual designers. Successes have too
often been assigned to personal styles rather than to the
underlying natural commonality such styles express. But
scientific explorations in fractal design are now providing the
foundations for such a theory. They continue to show that “by
nature design” we will be able to give ourselves what we still
apparently need the most, especially as we face the challenge of
the building a high technology civilization that nonetheless
retain the best of what has brought us so far.

VI. REFERENCE-
• File:///C:/users/raja/downloads/iconarticle.Pdf
• Fractals in small scale by panaagiotis patlakas
• The fractal nature of every say space- andrew Crompton,
feb 2004
• Fractal, architecture suatainabulity-rinku parashar in 2014
• Fractal in design with michele alfano – website
• Explainwer – what scaling and fractals are, and how
designers can use them
• Reduction of physiological stress using fractal art and
architecture taylor, R. P. Leonardo, volume 39, number 3,
June 2006, pp. 245-251 (article)