The assumption that European architecture is the only possibility for Africa continues a colonial view that is long overdue for disruption. African Indigenous settlements have a beautiful tradition of nonlinear scaling: circles within circles; rectangles within rectangles, and so on. These fractal patterns can be utilized in contemporary African architectural design, returning cultural value to the people who generated it. They also have environmental advantages: reducing need for air conditioning; creating irregular green spaces that break up the monotony of grids; making space for outdoor meetings, etc. And beyond architecture, Africa’s bottom-up tradition reflects an Indigenous generative economy throughout its design practices.
Simulations: try your hand at modifying these traditional fractal design patterns. Suitable for K-12 STEM education, design projects, etc.
Book: African Fractals: Modern Computing and Indigenous Design
Some traditional buildings and their simulations:
Uganda village (“manyatta”) in the Karamoja district. The simulation is at https://csdt.org/projects/17380/run
Logone-Birni in Cameroon. Simulation is at https://csdt.org/culture/africanfractals/architecture.html
Contemporary buildings:
Xavier Vilalta’s fractal buildings in Ethiopia: a fractal perforation pattern allows the building to “breathe”, reducing carbon footprint. With no need for air conditioners, rental price is much lower, so small local resturants, babershops etc. can exist in an area previously catering to the upper class.
Research: Artist AbdulAlim U-K (Aikin Karr) completed his dissertation on African fractals, available here. In the fantasy image below he combines the fractal structure of traditional African architecture with emerging technologies in computer graphics. AbdulAlim U-K, CC BY-ND
Fractal plan for University of Central Highlands, Angola: still a work in progress, the entire university models the fractal pattern of the beautiful lusona graphs from Angolan Indigenous tradition.
News:
Fractal building in Ethiopia wins the Prix Versailles architecture award