Architectural Analysis Based on Fractal Dimension on Diyarbakir Mosques

ABSTRACT When the concept of daily architecture is examined from a broad perspective, it can observe that architectural units are produced with different design criteria in each period. In terms of structural designs, the designs in which Euclidean geometry shapes - bricks, steel sections, plates - are presented with simple solutions in production and marketing, and where designs Euclid used effectively are stylistically recognized. From this point it is not hard to reach to the data that fractals in architecture are used more advanced than copying the models from nature, to fractal architecture (Jencks, 1997:14). In this study, it was aimed to support the interpretations made on the literature data about the intuitive facts and characteristics of mosques belonging to the Akkoyunlu period in the Diyarbakır mosques with numeric data. For this, the numerical possibilities of fractal geometry have been imposed on. First of all, the concept of fractal and its historical development, concepts of fractal design and its scope, fractal dimension and calculation methods are mentioned in the study. The architectural and historical features of the Diyarbakır mosques, which will be analysed by calculating the fractal dimension, are then discussed. In the scope of the field study, empty ratios filled with Diyarbakır mosques belonging to Akkoyunlu period by box counting method were determined and fractal dimensions were calculated with the specified formulas. The obtained values are demonstrated in tables. In the last part of the study, the obtained fractal values are tabulated. As a result of this obtained values, evaluations were made by putting forward these results and analyses. It is thought that the studies which combine different fields such as mathematics, geometry and architecture, can provide us with different perspectives.