Shape grammars as a reverse engineering method for the morphogenesis of architectural façade design

• Published in: Frontiers of architectural research Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 191 - 200
• Main Author: Eilouti, Buthayna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2019; Higher Education Press; KeAi Communications Co., Ltd
• Subjects: Contemporary architecture; Design computation; Façade engineering; Formal language; Forward engineering; Making grammars; Reverse engineering; Saudi architecture; Shape grammars; Formal language; Making grammars; Contemporary architecture; Design computation; Reverse engineering; Forward engineering; Saudi architecture; Shape grammars; Façade engineering
• ISSN: 2095-2635; 2095-2635
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foar.2019.03.006

The field of shape grammars spans 47 years, but its potential in the practice and education of art, architecture, and engineering remains far from being utilized. Similarly, while reverse engineering in some engineering disciplines is well-established, its implementation in architectural design remains under-represented. By combining the two domains, this paper develops a novel method that merges the power of shape grammars as a parsing tool in reverse engineering to decode the morphogenesis of visual compositions in architectural design. The merged power is demonstrated by decoding the formal language of a façade design of a case study, in which seemingly few simple rules can derive surprisingly complex compositions. The rules of the language can then be used to reconstruct parts of the case façade. Most shape grammars in the architectural literature are applied on formal historical precedents, but the subject of morphological analysis in this paper is contemporary and has a style that exhibits non-orthogonal configurations, which initially appear far from being standardized or subjected to regulatory tectonic rules. The façade derivation grammar is explained and re-synthesized in various computations to explore emergent articulations that display its predictive, synthetic, and generative powers in addition to typical analytic ones.