Construction of a Repertoire of Analog Form-Finding Techniques as a Basis for Computational Morphological Exploration in Design and Architecture

• Published in: Computational Intelligence in Music, Sound, Art and Design pp. 50 - 63
• Main Authors: Patiño, Ever, Maya, Jorge
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.01.2018
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Bio-inspiration; Form generation; Form-finding; Generative design; Morphogenetic design
• ISBN: 9783319775821; 3319775820
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-77583-8_4

The article describes the process of constructing a repertoire of analog form-finding techniques, which can be used in evolutionary computation to (i) compare the techniques among them and select the most suitable for a project, (ii) to explore forms or shapes in an analog and/or manual way, (iii) as a basis for the development of algorithms in specialized software, (iv) or to understand the physical processes and mathematical procedures of the techniques. To our knowledge no one has built a repertoire of this nature, since all the techniques are in sources of diverse disciplines. Methodologically, the construction process was based on a systematic review of the literature, allowing us to identify 33 techniques where the principles of bio-inspiration and self-organization are evident, characteristics both of form-finding strategies. As a result, we present the repertoire structure, composed of five groups of techniques sharing similar physical processes: inflate, group, de-construct, stress, solidify and fold. Subsequently, the repertoire’s conceptual, mathematical, and graphical analysis categories are presented. Finally, conclusions of potential applications and research trends of the subject are presented.