Evaluation of Structural Art in Tall Buildings Using Fuzzy Logic Analytical Hierarchy Process Method

Abstract

To decide which high-rise buildings would be considered as artworks in the period they have been constructed with a higher structural art quality in mind is the problem of the study. To evaluate the structural art from the closest to the furthest while taking into account the structural art principles and features and to reach more concrete and objective data are the goals of the study. The fuzzy logic analytical hierarchy process (FLAHP) method is preferred to evaluate tall buildings in terms of structural art. First, evaluation categories and criteria are determined. The evaluation criteria consist of formal and structural elements. Secondly, sample structures are chosen to evaluate. Sample structures were those that are accepted as artworks and outshine with their structural features among other buildings. The structures were scored by three experts, using linguistic expressions through criteria. After scoring, the mathematical calculation was started. This is where the importance of the FLAHP method comes into play. The subjective evaluations are transformed into objective data as a result and, it was possible to make an evaluation of structural art among the buildings by reaching their performance values. The theoretical part of the study consists of structural art and its principles. In the study, the concepts of art and aesthetics are discussed, the subject of structural art is discussed through high-rise buildings. To make the evaluation sound, evaluation criteria were made by taking into account the general theoretical elements and principles of structural art, design, and high-rise buildings. The buildings were selected from the buildings whose aesthetic factors were prioritized, designed for a single time, and became the symbol of their locations. The structures are those built between 1969 and 2011, designed in the competitive environment of the period, innovative in terms of the technology used, and belonging to different structural systems. Since there are no restrictions on the number of experts, selected samples, and the number of criteria in the literature, the numbers tried to be kept within optimum limits to make an objective assessment. The biggest reason for the selection of the FLAHP method in this study is that it transforms subjective expressions into objective data with quite simple mathematical operations. As a result, the structures ranked according to their performance values by evaluation of tall buildings in terms of structural art. This ranking is, starting from the first; Swiss Re, Capital Gate Building, Turning Torso, Willis Tower, Burj Khalifa, Al Hamra Tower, Taipei 101, John Hancock Center, First Wisconsin Bank, One Shell Plaza. In the importance of the main criteria categories, the structure is the first, the mass form is the second, and the facade is the third. The order of importance of the sub-criteria; In the structure category, the perception of the structure from the outside is the first, the functionality of the structure is the second, the structural technology is the third. The role of the structure in mass formation is the first in the mass form category, the perception of the geometry of the mass is the second, the reflection of the mass on the structure is the third. In the facade design category; the perception of the structure on the facade is the first, the symbolic quality of the facade is the second, and the facade is symbolic. reflecting the technology was determined as the third. In the ranking, the Swiss Re Building was determined as the tallest building closest to structural art among other examples. In this article, the subject of structural art is handled in the context of high buildings. Structural art has been studied before in studies on bridges, wide-span structures, and dams, but no studies on tall buildings were made. This study is one of the exemplary studies in which the subject of structural art and high-rise buildings brought together. When the studies carried out in the field of art and aesthetics are examined, it could be seen that abstract and subjective results have been reached with verbal expressions in the evaluation studies. This article is important because it is the first study to reach concrete and objective data on art and aesthetics, especially in which numerical operations are performed. It is important in terms of setting an example for the use of the FLAHP method and numerical values in the field of architecture, which constitutes the intersection of science and art.