SpringerLink
Log in

Analyzing the Architectural Style of Railway Stations Based on Geometry and Visual Complexity: Case Studies of Liaoning Terminal and Bei**g Railway Station on the Peking–Mukden Railway

  • Research
  • Published:
Nexus Network Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Liaoning terminal and Bei**g railway station are significant architectural heritage sites along the Peking–Mukden Railway. Their architectural styles do not only embody their cultural value but also serve as their carriers. This study explores the relationship between the architectural styles of these two stations and their geometric characteristics to uncover the origins and underlying principles of their styles, thereby contributing to their preservation and renovation. By analyzing the geometric systems, order of plans and elevations, and the visual complexity of their elevations, the study provides valuable insights. The classical attributes of these stations are manifested through the use of geometric proportion systems with a considerable fractal dimension, demonstrating continuity across different scales. Conversely, their modernity and national style are reflected in the intricate elevation elements, which exhibit varying fractal dimensions across different elevation layers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (France)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 2

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 3

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 4

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 5

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 6

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 7

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 8

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 9

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 10

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 11

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 12

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 13

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 14

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 15

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Fig. 16

Source: Author’s own drawing based on analysis

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The Fibonacci sequence is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233 and so on. Each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers, representing ‘natural perfection’ in mathematics. The further along the sequence, the closer the result approximates the golden ratio (Fehér et al. 2018).

  2. The plastic number is derived from a cubic equation and closely associates with the proportions 3:4 and 1:7, which van der Laan considered fundamental to human relationships. With 1:7 as the limiting range, a series of irrational numbers can be established: 1, 4:3, 7:4, 7:3, 3, 4, 16:3, 7. Van der Laan called this numerical arrangement the ‘order of size’ (Shannon et al. 2006).

  3. The square root proportion is an extension of the golden ratio, represented by 1/√2, 1/√3, 1/√4,.., 1/√n. In the tradition of architectural composition, this proportion relationship is often used to determine the positions of components like doors and windows (Elam 2001).

References

  • Amer, Ismail Ahmed and Ahmed Ali Ahmed Gaber. 2019. The methodology of design by geometric code in traditional architecture. Journal of Al-Azhar University Engineering Sector 14(50): 259–286.

  • Bovill, Carl. 1996. Fractal Geometry in architecture and design. Boston: Springer.

  • Elam, Kimberly. 2001. Geometry of design: studies in proportion and composition. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

  • El-Darwish, Ingy Ibrahim. 2019. Fractal design in streetscape: rethinking the visual aesthetics of building elevation composition. Alexandria Engineering Journal 58(3): 957-966. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2019.08.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fehér, Krisztina, Brigitta Szilágyi and Balázs Halmos. 2018. Golden ratio and fibonacci sequence in pentagonal constructions of medieval architecture. YBL Journal of Built Environment 6: 37-46. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2478/jbe-2018-0003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guadet, Julien. 1901. Éléments et théorie de l’architecture. Tome 1, Librairie de la Construction Moderne. Paris: Librairie de la construction moderne.

  • Hejazi, Mehrdad. 2004. Geometry in nature and Persian architecture. Building and Environment 40(10): 1413-1427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2004.11.007

  • Huang, Qingqi and **bo Chen. 2014. A study of the historical geography of Peking–Mukden Railway (1881-1912). Geography Research 33(11): 2180–2194.

  • Kiani, Zohreh and Peyman Amiriparyan. 2016. The structural and spatial analysing of fractal geometry in organizing of Iranian traditional architecture. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 216: 766-777. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.12.074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, Delin. 2007. Research on Chinese Modern Architectural History. Bei**g: Tsinghua University Press.

  • Liu, Fuying, Shangqi Yang, Weixing Sun and Hongwei **ng. 2021. Research on the Case Study of Bei**g-Fengtian Railway Architectural Heritage: Taking Liaoning terminal as an Example. World Architecture 8: 86-89, 126.

  • Liu, **anjue. 2001. Memorial Symposium for the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Yang Tingba. Bei**g: China Architecture & Building Press.

  • Liu, Yishi. 2022a. The First Gateway to the Modern Capital City: An Architectural History of Bei**g railway station. Journal of Architecture History 3(4): 116–128.

  • Liu, Yishi. 2022b. Reinforced Concrete Thin Shell Structure and Its Development in China Centering on the ZeissDywidag System. Architectural Journal 9: 95–102.

  • Lorenz, Wolfgang E. 2009. Fractal geometry of architecture: Implementation of the box-counting method in a CAD-software. In Proceedings of the eCAADe Conference. Istanbul: 697–704. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2009.697

  • Ma, Lan, Hua Zhang and Mingzhen Lu. 2020. Building’s fractal dimension trend and its application in visual complexity map. Building and Environment 178: 106925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106925

  • Mandelbrot, Benoit B. 1982. The fractal geometry of nature. New York: WH Freeman.

  • Ostwald, Michael and Josephine Vaughan. 2016. The fractal dimension of architecture. Basel: Birkhäuser. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32426-5

  • Ostwald, Michael J. and Özgür Ediz. 2015. Measuring form, ornament and materiality in Sinan’s Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque: an analysis using fractal dimensions. Nexus Network Journal 17: 5-22. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-014-0219-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Padovan, Richard. 2002. Proportion: science, philosophy, architecture. Oxford: Taylor & Francis.

  • Payne, Alina A. 1994. Rudolf wittkower and architectural principles in the age of modernism. The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 53(3): 322-342. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2307/990940

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pongsarayuth, Sasi and Suphot Manalapanacharoen. 2024. Pythagorean music theory and its application in renaissance architectural design. Malaysian Journal of Music 13(1): 18–29. https://doi.org/10.37134//mjm.vol13.1.2.2024

  • Pudine, Halime. 2016. A study on dimensions of fractal geometry in iranian architecture. Journal of Urban Management 41: 257–267. https://www.scribd.com/document/371761905/article-1081-342307

  • Ramzy, Nelly Shafik. 2015. The dual language of geometry in gothic architecture: The symbolic message of euclidian geometry versus the visual dialogue of fractal geometry. Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture 5(2): 135–172. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol5/iss2/7

  • Shannon, A. G., Peter G. Anderson and A. F. Horadam. 2006. Properties of cordonnier, perrin and van der laan numbers. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology 37(7): 825-831. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00207390600712554

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Shi, Qi**. 1992. Chronicles of Shenyang’s Construction Industry:1991-2000. Bei**g: China Architecture & Building Press.

  • Tang, Jian. 2021. A parametric analysis of the “digitally-derived geometric design” of the façade of the Macau Holy house of Mercy. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering 21(4): 1230–1243. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2021.1941983

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan, Josephine and Michael J. Ostwald. 2010. Using fractal analysis to compare the characteristic complexity of nature and architecture: re-examining the evidence. Architectural Science Review 53(3): 323-332. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3763/asre.2010.0024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Weiren. 2021. Type, Style, Site, and Modernity: The Spatial Form of Yang Tingbao. Architectural Journal 10: 33-41.

  • Xue, Lin** and Yu Shi. 2011. Researches on Old North Railway Station of Shenyang. Huazhong Architecture 29(10): 111–115.

Download references

Funding

This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant no. 52078107.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. JangHo Architecture College, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110169, Liaoning, China

    Lina Zhang, Zhipeng Duan, Fuying Liu & Qingxuan Zhang

  2. Zhijiang College of Zhejiang University of Technology, Shaoxing, 312030, Zhejiang, China

    Fuying Liu

  3. Center for Urban Governance Studies of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 311121, Zhejiang, China

    Fuying Liu

Authors
  1. Lina Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhipeng Duan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fuying Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qingxuan Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fuying Liu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhang, L., Duan, Z., Liu, F. et al. Analyzing the Architectural Style of Railway Stations Based on Geometry and Visual Complexity: Case Studies of Liaoning Terminal and Bei**g Railway Station on the Peking–Mukden Railway. Nexus Netw J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-024-00793-w

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-024-00793-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation