GENERATIVE SYSTEMS BASED ON ANIMATION TOOLS: STRUCTURE AND FORM OF CORE IDEAS IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN.

Dounas Theodore , Kotsiopoulos Anastasios
Abstract. The goal of the research described in this paper is the formulation of a generative system for architectural design, where a structured core architectural idea is the input and alternatives to that idea are the output.Specifically we present a production pipeline of architectural / spatial configurations using the context of animation and time based design tools. Our model consists of “time” and space design constraints of boundaries / objects affecting a given architectural design, thus producing an alternative solution for every timeframe of the animation cycle. The alternative designs vary from the original according to their temporal and/or spatial distance from the original object on the animation time-line.Initially the designer shapes an idea using animation software tools, where each tool is actually a constraint or a grammar rule defined informally by the user/designer. The influence of the tools can vary according to time, speed, location, configuration of the object and/or the constraint itself. In some of these animations the designer has the ability to sidestep partially the issue of emergence by providing specific key -frames for the solution to follow.The use of animation tools [shape driven curves, speed and time-line functions, parent child relationships] in the shape generation of our model empowers the user/designer to configure whole sets of shapes and designs interactively and without the need to define every solution independently. Simultaneously, a different, time-focused view of our model describes its use on designs that develop different configurations over time. Thus a duality of our model is established : the animated schema may be either a sum or a family of various designs or the animated time-line may represent a single design which changes over time.Finally the possibility of a structured graph representing each solution is discussed, where the designer can evaluate the merit of an individual solution in terms of conforming to the initial core idea or where alternative spatial configurations evolve in a different structure from the original design.
http://arlav.blogspot.com/2007/02/generative-systems-paper-caadria-2007.html