Foundations in Shape Grammars

Catalog description

Shape grammars are a powerful formalism for the generative description of designs and a key discourse in design computation. The formalism is distinctive for its interest in developing a mathematics of design through visual computations described directly with geometry. By foregrounding visual representations and visual processes, the formalism lays the foundation for shape computations that aid in explaining, understanding, and developing designs specified by rule-based, generative systems. These computations provide the basis for the generative description, interpretation, and evaluation of visual designs. This course provides a broad exploration of shape grammar theory, implementations, and applications in a variety of disciplines. More specifically, it investigates the theory of shapes, shape rules, parametric shape rules, rule schemata, languages of designs, and more, providing students with a foundation in the rule-based analysis and specification of designs as well as a fundamental understanding on design computing. It considers the history and logic of spatial systems in the arts, architecture, and engineering to build an awareness of rule-based approaches in design, especially in relation to the theories underlying contemporary design software. Critical and creative applications in the arts, architecture, landscape, urbanism, product design, and engineering will be discussed to understand shape grammars as a visual approach to rule-based analysis and synthesis with broad potential for design and research. Building on these insights, students will learn to analyze designs with rules and use those rules to generate new design configurations. Students will also be challenged to develop their own rulebased interpretations of design processes to study how shape grammars can be understood as a generative design methodology.