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This work explores additive manufacturing (AM) of concrete by using a six-axis robotic arm and its use in large-scale, autonomous concrete construction. Concrete AM uses an extrusion method to deposit concrete beads in layers to create a three-dimensional (3D) shape. This method has been found to have many uses and advantages in construction applications. The lack of formwork and autonomous nature of this manufacturing method allows for new geometries and materials to be printed in unsafe or challenging environments. Autonomous construction has been suggested as a method of creating habitats in rapid-response scenarios. This article discusses research toward one such system that could be used to rapidly construct necessary habitats in response to low-resource and emergency situations. This required addressing certain limitations of a six-axis robotic arm platform along with overcoming system challenges to achieve deliverables for NASA's “3D Printed Habitat Challenge.” This included system design to increase the build volume, integrate embedding, print non-coplanar sections, and minimize travel moves to address the challenges associated with continuous extrusion of cementitious material. The system was demonstrated by printing a one-third scale habitat, which represents the first 3d-printed fully enclosed structure at an architectural scale without the use of support.

In mass customization, software configurators enable novice end-users to design customized products and services according to their needs and preferences. However, traditional configurators hardly provide an engaging experience while avoiding the burden of choice. We propose a Design Participation Model to facilitate navigating the design space, based on two modules. Modeler enables designers to create customizable designs as parametric models, and Navigator subsequently permits novice end-users to explore these designs. While most parametric designs support direct manipulation of low-level features, we propose interpolation features to give customers more flexibility. In this paper, we focus on the implementation of such interpolation features into Navigator and its user interface. To assess our approach, we designed and performed user experiments to test and compare Modeler and Navigator, thus providing insights for further developments of our approach. Our results suggest that barycentric interpolation between qualitative parameters provides a more easily understandable interface that empowers novice customers to explore the design space expeditiously.

Masonry screen walls are architectural elements made from bricks that create different patterns to provide shade and natural ventilation to buildings. This paper presents a digital framework for th...

Shape-changing materials have become increasingly popular among architects in designing responsive systems. One of the greatest challenges of designing with these materials is their dynamic nature, which requires architects to design with the fourth dimension, time. This article presents a study that formalizes the shape-changing behavior of three-dimensional printed wood-based composite materials and the rules that serve to compute their shape-change in response to variations in relative humidity. In this research, we first developed custom three-dimensional printing protocols and analyzed the effects of three-dimensional printing parameters on shape-change. We thereafter three-dimensional printed kirigami geometries to amplify hygroscopic material transformation of wood-based composites.

Despite its marked success in recent years, it is still not clear how Virtual Reality (VR) can assist architects at the early stages of ideation and design. In this paper, we approach VR to build and explore maquettes at different scales in early design stages. To this end we developed a VR environment where user interactions are supported by untethered, easy to operate, peripherals, using a mobile virtual reality headset to provide virtual immersion and simplified geometric information to create voxel-based maquettes. Usability studies with laypeople suggest that the proposed system is both easier to use and more effective [better suited] than current CAD software to rapidly create simplified models. Additionally, tests with architects have shown the system's potential to improve their toolset. This is partly due to VR combining real-time performance with immersive exploration of the content, where body-scale relationships become visible to support the creative process, allowing architects to become both builders and explores of spatial constructs.

This chapter illustrates a novel framework combining building information model (BIM) and various artificial intelligence techniques developed as part of The Pennsylvania State University’s participation in NASA’s 3D-Printed Mars Habitat Centennial Challenge. It encompasses a parametric algorithm for generating design alternatives and a common BIM-based data exchange platform facilitating information exchange between the parametric algorithm, analysis tools, 4D-simulation tools, and optimization routines. Machine learning is embedded to learn from previous design iterations and speed up the optimization process. This framework enables generating 3D models of multiple design alternatives, 4D simulations of robotic additive construction, and design optimization for structural and environmental performance. Simulating construction early in the design phase is important as it plays a crucial role in dictating the constructability of the building shape and, therefore, the feasibility of autonomous construction. The framework also overcomes limitations of designers in generating and evaluating large sets of building design alternatives and it is demonstrated in the design of a 3D-printable habitat. Limitations of the proposed framework and potential avenues for addressing those limitations are outlined.

Scaling up additive manufacturing (AM) for automated building construction requires expertise from different fields of knowledge, including architecture, material science, engineering, and manufact...

An important task in the initial stages of most architectural design processes is the design of planar floor plans, that are composed of non-overlapping rooms divided from each other by walls while satisfying given topological and dimensional constraints. The work described in this paper is part of a larger research aimed at developing the mathematical theory for examining the feasibility of given topological constraints and providing a generic floor plan solution for all possible design briefs.In this paper, we mathematically describe universal (or generic) rectangular floor plans with n rooms, that is, the floor plans that topologically contain all possible rectangular floor plans with n rooms. Then, we present a graph-theoretical approach for enumerating generic rectangular floor plans upto nine rooms. At the end, we demonstrate the transformation of generic floor plans into a floor plan corresponding to a given graph.

This paper reviews and extracts lessons from historic buildings, whose stability relies mainly on compression to resist gravity loads, that can inform the construction of affordable housing and shelters using 3D printed concrete without reinforcement and formwork. The first part consists of a literature survey of historic constructions with systems relying on compression considering four vectors of analysis: (1) form; (2) structural principle; (3) materials; and (4) construction process . The survey starts by identifying forms whose structural principle may be adequate for 3D printing of concrete applications. Then, historic structures displaying similar forms are analyzed in terms of structural behavior, the types of materials employed, and the construction process used to obtain foundations, walls, and roofs. A series of historically inspired shapes for printing is thus obtained from this survey. To address the printability of the structures identified after the survey, the second part of the paper provides a brief description of existing processes for construction scale printing considering material aspects, such as fresh state behavior, and printing system configurations. Addressing the fresh state properties of concrete is crucial as it determines whether the structure fails during printing. Finally, a set of strategies including potential toolpaths and intermediate states are defined to print the identified forms, considering issues concerning material requirements and printing process.

The construction sector is under increasing pressure to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, reducing environmental impacts, material use and costs. A computational tool was developed to design and fabricate functionally graded building components. The material composition was defined based on voxel determination in order to design building elements with varying material stiffness. A cement-based conceptual building wall was investigated with a varied material composition, using two different lightweight aggregates, a granulated cork one and the other with expanded clay. This functionally graded material concept applied to lightweight building components will allow producing resource-efficient graded building components tailored to specific loading conditions, minimizing waste generation, emissions and resource consumption.

We present a tool intended to enable non-expert users to apply and manipulate a shape grammar, SMUG, which encodes the urban design of informal settlements such as favelas. Such tool, the Interpreter, was developed considering that students would be its main users, and therefore we consider this grammar implementation to potentially be a multipurpose pedagogical tool since it supports conveying knowledge about urban design, shape grammars and parametric modeling using Grasshopper. This paper focuses on the development of the Interpreter and discusses the results of its use in a design studio, which can better inform subsequent iteration as well as other courses and schools.

This paper proposes that conversion of redundant office buildings into housing is a viable strategy to respond to both structural vacancy and high demand for new dwellings at an affordable cost, which are widespread problems in the main urbanized contexts.

Existing floor planning algorithms are mostly limited to rectangular room geometries. This restriction is a significant reason why they are not used much in design practice. To address this issue, we propose an algorithm (based on graph theoretic tools) that generates rectangular and, if required, orthogonal floor plans while satisfying the given adjacency requirements. If a floor plan does not exist for the given adjacency requirements, we introduce circulations within a floor plan to have a required floor plan.

This research presents a methodology to develop and implement a generative design system as the technological model for mass customisation in the furniture industry. The generative design system comprises two subsystems that permit the generation and the evaluation of customised designs within a predefined design language. The shape generation subsystem is defined by shape grammars and parametric design models. The shape evaluation subsystem encompasses simulation and optimisation to guarantee the structural feasibility of the customised designs under operating conditions. This paper focuses on the modelling activities regarding the constitution of the optimisation part of the shape evaluation subsystem. Structural optimisation using simulated annealing is applied to assist the designer in the automatic search for an optimal grammar-based detailed solution. The theoretical model is illustrated by its application to a symbolic mass production problem: Thonet bentwood chairs, which were changed to comply with the mass customisation paradigm.

We present our work on creating and assessing virtual field trip experiences using different VR and AR setups. In comparative studies, we address the question of how different settings and technologies compare regarding their ability to convey different kinds of spatial information and to foster spatial learning. We focus on a case study on an informal settlement in Rio, Brazil, in which we used an informal assessment to help inform and improve the design of different VR site experiences.

This paper discusses adding a spatial dimension to the design of community microgrid projects in the interest of expanding the existing discourse related to energy performance optimization measures. A multidimensional vision for designing community microgrids with higher energy performance is considered, leveraging urban form (superstructure) to understand how it impacts the performance of the system’s distributed energy resources and loads (infrastructure). This vision engages the design sector in the technical conversation of developing community microgrids, leading to energy efficient designs of microgrid-connected communities well before their construction. A new generation of computational modeling and simulation tools that address this interaction are required. In order to position the research, this paper presents a survey of existing software packages, belonging to two distinct categories of modeling, simulation, and evaluation of community microgrids: the energy infrastructure modeling and the urban superstructure energy modeling. Results of this software survey identify a lack in software tools and simulation packages that simultaneously address the necessary interaction between the superstructure and infrastructure of community microgrids, given the importance of its study. Conclusions represent how a proposed experimental software prototype may fill an existing gap in current related software packages.

As part of a larger research aimed at developing design aids for architects, this paper presents the “automated” generation of the “best connected” rectangular floor plans, satisfying given topological and dimensional constraints. It has been seen that architects, knowingly or unknowingly, have often used either the golden rectangle or the Fibonacci rectangle in their works throughout history. But it was hard to find any specific reason for such use, other than aesthetic. In 2015, Shekhawat showed that they are among the best connected rectangular arrangements (dimensionless rectangular floor plans) and that this may well be another reason for their frequent use in architectural design. In this work, an alternative algorithm is presented which generates n − 3 best connected rectangular arrangements, being n the number of rooms. Then, this concept is further extended for constructing the best connected dimensioned rectangular floor plans. The goal is to provide an optimal solution for the rectangular space allocation problem, while satisfying given topological and dimensional requirements.

This work aims at providing a mathematical approach to the problem of allocating given rooms within a given predefined contour shape, while satisfying given adjacency and size constraints. This work is significant with respect to complex building structures, such as hospitals, schools, offices, etc., where we may require floor plans other than rectangular ones and adjacency constraints are defined by the frequency of journeys expected to be made by occupants of the building along different routes. In this paper, we present an algorithmic approach using graph theoretical tools for generating rectilinear floor plan layouts, while satisfying adjacency and size constraints.

The following paper describes a shape grammar that recreates Palladian villas. A Palladian grammar was originally proposed by Stiny and Mitchell. However, this alternative grammar uses different parametric shape rules and methodology to test the hypothesis that different grammars can generate the same corpus of designs. The formalism is then implemented using a computerised design tool. The grammar includes subdivision rules that allow for a more economical formulation. A new corpus of solutions is explored and the derivation is compared with the original Palladian grammar. The project is part of wider research aimed at formulating a generic housing grammar.

We develop a model for an urban design tool based on discursive grammars. The proposed design synthesis process is consistent with a reflective design process. The generative formalism, called urban grammars, is formally defined and a design methodology for urban design based on urban grammars is proposed and discussed. An urban design is obtained from the application of an arrangement of design patterns called urban induction patterns, each one of them encoded as a discursive grammar replicating a typical recurrent design move. The defined structure is shown to be compatible with the principles of design machines while keeping the reflective structure of the design process.

This research uses shape grammars as the basis of a computational tool to explore the relationship between the human body in motion and space, aiming to develop further knowledge about cognition and architecture. Artistic and scientific tools and methods already used to develop these concepts are being studied in order to create a new tool that will help us to understand, through simulation, how the body mediated through architecture can influence human cognitive response and thus behaviour. The goal is a methodology for the design of a “corporeal architecture” that can create a naturally immersive environment in which the ability of its geometry and physical properties to conduct or induce body movements in space for specific purposes can generate experience. Also discussed is the potential of the tool proposed for the study of the human body in movement as a generative strategy in architecture. In describing the parameters and criteria chosen to develop our software, we exemplify briefly how a shape grammar, as a system of rules, can be used to generate sequences of actions, establishing the idea that human behaviour in space can be composed as choreography and provide a means of considering architectural space not only in terms of shape but particularly in terms of life.

The aim of the City Induction project is to develop an urban design tool consisting of 3 parts: an urban programme formulation module, a generation module and an evaluation module. The generation module relies on a very generic Urban Grammar composed of several generic grammars called Urban Induction Patterns (UIPs) corresponding to typical urban design moves. Specific grammars, such as the analytical grammars inferred from our case studies, can be obtained by defining specific arrangements of Urban Induction Patterns and specific constraints on the rule parameters. We show that variations on the UIP arrangements or rule parameters can provide design variations and specific grammars to be synthesised through design exploration. It is therefore seen as a process for synthesizing a specific design grammar within the field of urban design and has two main features: (1) it allows for the synthesis of specific grammars during the design process and (2) it allows for the customization of a personal design language within the broad scope of the generic grammar. A formal definition of Urban Grammars is presented and its application in the production of customized urban designs is demonstrated by customizing design languages using a specific compound grammar defined by a specific arrangement of generic grammars.

The research described in this paper is part of a project aimed at decoding Alberti’s De re aedificatoria by inferring the corresponding shape grammar using the computational framework provided by description and shape grammars to determine the extent of such an influence in the Counter-Reformation period in Portugal. Here we concentrate on the theoretical foundations that enable the translation of Alberti’s text into a shape grammar and then use it in determining its influence on Portuguese Renaissance architecture.

The current goal is to implement a description grammar that generates housing briefs based on user and site data. The ultimate goal is to customize mass housing. This paper discusses these issues. Previous research proposed a mathematical model for the automatic generation of customized designs based on description and shape grammars. This paper describes the implementation of a description grammar that codifies the Portuguese housing design guidelines, as well as the intelligence of a human designer using them inferred after experimental work. Knowledge was sequentially converted from table format into English, Mathematical notation, and then the CLIPS language. Java Experts system Shell is the rule application engine, and JAVA and XML are used for coding theinterface and information tables, respectively.It describes how to implement a description grammar and it shows the feasibility of using them for automating the generation of housing briefs that contain enough technical information for design. In a subsequent step, it permits the automatic generation of housing solutions in real time. Backtracking is limited, theinterface does not provide visual clues for improving understanding of the available options, and the brief does not record intuitive or emotional information. It can help designers identifying the specifications of their clients' houses. It can be linked to a system that automatically generates, in a given language, housing solutions that match such specifications, thereby enabling the mass customization of housing. This paper describes the first practical implementation of a description grammar found in the literature.

The ultimate goal of the described research is a process for mass customizing housing based on computer-aided design and production systems. The current goal is the development of an interactive system for generating solutions on the Web based on a modeling approach called discursive grammar. A discursive grammar consists of a programming grammar and a designing grammar. The programming grammar generates design briefs based on user data; the designing grammar provides the rules for generating designs in a particular style, and a set of heuristics guides the generation of designs towards a solution that matches the design brief. This paper describes the designing grammar using Siza's houses at Malagueira as a case study.

This paper is concerned with how two different computational approaches to design – shape grammars and space syntax – can be combined into a single common framework for formulating, generating, and evaluating designs. The main goal is to explore how the formal principles applied in the design process interact with the spatial properties of the designed objects. Results suggest that space syntax is (1) useful in determining the universe of solutions generated by the grammar and (2) in evaluating the evolving designs in terms of spatial properties and, therefore, in guiding the generation of designs.

This paper describes the setting out of generic housing rules. These rules were synthesized using a grammar formalism as described in previous papers. This study focuses on the parametric shape rules and its application.

Research is currently being developed on mass customization of ceramic tableware. The objective of this research is to allow end users to personalize their tableware sets, namely to determine the shape of its elements. The implementation of mass customization implies the articulation among three systems: design, production and computation. In this paper we will focus on the design system, which aims at two main goals: to help designers develop tableware collections, and to allow end users to customize these collections. The design system being developed controls the design of the elements of the tableware set in terms of their shape and decoration through the use of shape grammars and parametric modelling. The use of generic shape grammars is suggested as an effective way of handling a wide variety of tableware collections.

We hereby focus the study of the Albertian column system, as part of the Digital Alberti project, a research initiative that aims to shed some light on the influence of Alberti on Portuguese architecture. Starting from Alberti’s treatise on architecture, De Re Aedificatoria, and its translation into Portuguese, Da Arte Edificatoria, a generative computational model was developed that encodes Alberti’s prescriptions about the elements of the column system, as well as their proportions and shapes. This research complements the elaboration of the corresponding shape grammar on Alberti’s column system. This project is a paradigmatic example of the use of digital technology for understanding architectural tradition. The development of the referred models implied deepening the understanding of Alberti’s rules about the column elements. This in-depth analysis revealed a very coherent hierarchical structure ruling the relationships among the several elements. It also revealed that information was insufficient to inform a formal model of all them, especially the ones showing more complex geometry, such as the corinthian and composite capitals. Therefore, it can be considered that the application of digital technologies allowed to more accurately understand and reproduce Alberti’s guidelines for the art of building. Foca-se o estudo do sistema de coluna Albertiano, no âmbito do projecto Alberti Digital, cuja investigacao pretende elucidar sobre a influencia de Alberti na arquitetura portuguesa. Partindo do tratado de Alberti sobre arquitetura, De re aedificatoria, e da sua traducao para portugues, Da Arte Edificatoria, foi desenvolvido um modelo computacional generativo que codifica as instrucoes de Alberti respeitantes aos elementos do sistema de coluna, bem como as suas proporcoes e formas. A investigacao complementa a elaboracao da gramatica da forma correspondente ao sistema de coluna Albertiano. O projecto e um exemplo paradigmatico do uso de tecnologias digitais na compreensao da tradicao arquitetonica. O desenvolvimento dos modelos referidos implicou um entendimento aprofundado das regras de Alberti sobre os elementos da coluna. Esta analise revelou uma estrutura hierarquica consistente que rege as relacoes entre os diversos elementos. Revelou tambem que, para uma modelacao exacta de todos esses elementos, a informacao fornecida por Alberti nao e suficiente, nomeadamente nos casos mais complexos dos capiteis corintio e composito. Considera-se assim que a aplicacao de tecnologias digitais permitiram compreender e reproduzir mais exactamente as orientacoes de Alberti para a arte da construcao.

This article focuses on a shape grammar, therabo-de-bacalhauhousing style, that was developed to enable the adaptation of existing houses to new requirements and most particular on the process of inference of the grammar. In the article we describe the process undertaken to develop the grammar and what the achievements of the transformation grammar are regarding the possibilities of a mass customization of a dwelling's rehabilitation work. The goal of this article is to describe and discuss how the designer's knowledge was encoded into shape rules. The process used to extract the architect's knowledge and to incorporate it into the transformation grammar enable us to abstract the designer's actions and to define a sequence of actions that can define a possible strategy of design. The proposed design methodology generates dwelling layouts that are legal because they follow the grammar language and adequate because they meet the a priori user and design requirements.

The main objective of the ongoing investigation described in this paper is to produce a Corinthian capital through generative modelling and digital prototyping, and according to Leon Battista Alberti’s treatise on architecture, De re aedificatoria. This investigation is part of the Digital Alberti research project, which aims to decode Alberti’s treatise through the use of new technologies. This treatise can be interpreted as a set of instructions regarding the art of building. The instructions related to Alberti’s column system were translated into computational models, capable of generating digital instances of column elements according to the classical canons prescribed in the treatise. These instances were then digitally produced, materializing Alberti’s theory. Despite Alberti’s thoroughness, some detailing information is missing, namely for the Corinthian capital; observation and computational geometry were important for filling in the gaps. Such investigation allows determining the suitability of different modelling strategies, as well as the potential of different prototyping technologies. Key words: Alberti, De re aedificatoria, Corinthian capital, generative modelling, digital fabrication.

Urban planning has a considerable impact on the economic performance of cities and on the quality of life of their populations. Efficiency at this level has been hampered by the lack of integrated tools to adequately describe urban space in order to formulate appropriate design solutions. This paper describes an ontology called LBCS-OWL2 specifically developed to overcome this flaw, based on the Land Based Classification Standards (LBCS), a comprehensive and detailed land use standard to describe the different dimensions of urban space. The goal is to provide semantic and computer-readable land use descriptions of geo-referenced spatial data. This will help to make programming strategies available to those involved in the urban development process. There are several advantages to transferring a land use standard to an OWL2 land use ontology: it is modular, it can be shared and reused, it can be extended and data consistency maintained, and it is ready for integration, thereby supporting the interoperability of different urban planning applications. This standard is used as a basic structure for the “City Information Modelling” (CIM) model developed within a larger research project called City Induction, which aims to develop a tool for urban planning and design.

Grammar formalisms for design come in a large variety, requiring different representations of the objects being generated, and different interpretative mechanisms for this generation. At the same time, all grammars share certain definitions and characteristics. Building on these commonalities, we consider a component-based approach for building grammar systems, utilizing a uniform characterization of grammars. Sortal representations constitute the components for this approach. They implement a model for representations, termed sorts, that defines formal operations on sorts and recognizes formal relationships between sorts. Each sort defines an algebra over its elements; formal compositions of sorts derive their algebraic properties from their component sorts. This algebraic framework makes sortal representations particularly suited for defining grammar formalisms considering a variety of algebra, and match relations (or interpretative mechanisms). For urban design and simulation, sortal grammars may include, among others, descriptive grammars, shape grammars, GIS-based grammars and any combination thereof.

This paper describes the "Land Based Classification Standards" (LBCS) OWL2 ontology used as a basic structure for the "City Information Modelling" (CIM) model developed within a larger research project aimed at developing a tool for urban planning and design. The main purpose is to provide semantic and computer-readable land use descriptions of georeferenced spatial data, to make available programming strategies and design options to the participants of the urban development process. There are several advantages of transferring a Land use standard into a OWL2 land use ontology: it is modular, it can be shared and reused, it can be extended and data consistency can be checked, it is ready to be integrated, supporting the interoperability of different urban planning applications.

This paper addresses the integration of Information, Communication and Automation Technologies (ICAT) in the dwelling space in order to meet the user’s needs. We describe an ongoing PhD research which deals with the rehabilitation of the existing housing stock in order to fulfil the new needs of dwellers in the current Information Society as well as the impact of the integration of ICAT in dwellings. For this purpose we establish a rehabilitation methodology which enables architects to fulfil the client’s needs and requirements in home automation, from the beginning of the architectural process. This will enable the creation of a compatible and properly integrated ICAT infrastructure in homes,paving the way for ambient intelligence and promoting sustainable strategies at the environmental and social levels. The research described in this paper project was funded by the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) with grant SFRH / BD / 18225 / 2004.