Automorphs

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is the delineation and investigation of a general pattern or mechanism which I have termed 'automorphic,' a word derived from the Latin roots, 'autos' meaning self, and 'morphe' referring to form. The thesis further characterizes the mechanism as 'recursive,' 'self-similar,' 'scaling' -- adjectives referring to form (and) phenomenon in or from which the same configuration is repeated many times at many different scales. The attempt is to maintain the generality of the term in order to establish it as a fundamental attribute of form or persistent structure, (or as a necessary component to a conception of form, as inherent to "order" as "modular coordination" or symmetry). I will explore briefly several disciplinary fragments of contemporary physical theory where this mechanism can be said to be operational including an analogy to basic life processes -- the most elegant of the physical automorphisms. Its analytic and thus generative power in fields as diverse as astrophysics, geomorphology, biology and particle physics, carry important implications for the understanding our own human physical and cognitive processes and subsequently important bearings on the artifacts we generate. The study will then focus on those topics specific to built form particularly that of this type of pattern's inherent structural and energetic stability. Central to this section is a note on spatial perception ( and therefore 'space' itself) as a function of automorphism, or inherent recursive perceptual thresholds. A graphic presentation of two built projects is meant as an attempt at unified synthesis and application.