Article

A Wood Frame Grammar: A Generative System for Digital Fabrication

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Abstract

A novel design system is presented that generates information for house construction exclusively from 3/4" plywood sheets. A shape grammar routine is employed to subdivide an initial solid shape into constructible components for desktop digital fabrication and design evaluation as a physical model. Once approved final construction can happen with components cut on a CNC wood router after the design has been validated by a laser cut model. Shape grammar rule format is used to design functions that build geometry later converted to a scripting language in CAD. Future goals for the grammar are to develop a complete CAD program that translates 3D designs to 2D drawings for flat digital fabrication. The ultimate goal of the program is to automate the translation of solid models to information for digital fabrication. Currently a manual process the translation allows the designer to focus on the visual aspects of evaluation at any scale with little concern for constructability.

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... 1.4 Evolution of IBOIS prototypes: (a) Single-layered origami prototype using MTSJ [123] / (b) Double-layered prototype using snap-fit joints [121] / (c) Double-layered Miura-Ori pattern prototype using TT [126] / (d) Double-layered free-form shell prototype using TT [120]. [133] / (c) X-Frame system [168] / (d) Sim [PLY] system [149] / (e) Facit Homes system [40]. . . . . . 36 3.5 Production tools at IBOIS / (a) five-axis CNC machine / (b) Zoom on the cutting tool during the machining process / (c) six-axis robot when manipulating a panel. ...
... A combination of flat-pack and prefabricated methods can be considered for SMEs to improve the efficiency of the construction process. Based on this idea, the wood grammar frame, presented by Sass [133,134] in 2006, describes the use of new digital workflows, from design-to-production, for standard housing components using wood-wood connections. It introduces the concept of 2D flat-packs directly delivered on-site, where the different elements of a 3D component (a slab, for example) are assembled on-site to minimize the volume transported (see Fig. 3.3). ...
... Several projects and research studies have been performed using this construction paradigm, such as the WikiHouse developed by the Open Systems Lab (Open Systems Lab © , England) [150,165], the Sim[PLY] construction system (Clemson University School of Architecture, USA) [3,149], the X-Frame system (X-Frame Limited © , New Zealand) [42,168], and the Facit Homes system Figure 3.3 -Flat-pack system: (a) 3D structure / (b) Part of the 3D structure / (c) Decomposition of the 3D element into standard panels / (d) Panels and cuts needed to reconstitute the structural element. Based on [133]. ...
Thesis
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Traditional wood-wood connections, widely used in the past, have been progressively replaced by steel fasteners and bonding processes in modern timber constructions. However, the emergence of digital fabrication and innovative engineered timber products have offered new design possibilities for wood-wood connections. The design-to-production workflow has evolved considerably over the last few decades, such that a large number of connections with various geometries can now be easily produced. These connections have become a cost-competitive alternative for the edgewise connection of thin timber panels. Several challenges remain in order to broaden the use of this specific joining technique into common timber construction practice: (1) prove the applicability at the building scale, (2) propose a standardized construction system, (3) develop a convenient calculation model for practice, and (4) investigate the mechanical behavior of wood-wood connections. The first building implementation of digitally produced through-tenon connections for a folded-plate structure is presented in this work. Specific computational tools for the design and manufacture of more than 300 different plates were efficiently applied in a multi-stakeholder project environment. Cross-laminated timber panels were investigated for the first time, and the potential of such connections was demonstrated for different engineered timber products. Moreover, this work demonstrated the feasibility of this construction system at the building scale. For a more resilient and locally distributed construction process, a standardized system using through-tenon connections and commonly available small panels was developed to reconstitute basic housing components. Based on a case-study with industry partners, the fabrication and assembly processes were validated with prototypes made of oriented strand board. Their structural performance was investigated by means of a numerical model and a comparison with glued and nailed assemblies. The results showed that through-tenon connections are a viable alternative to commonly used mechanical fasteners. So far, the structural analysis of such construction systems has been mainly achieved with complex finite element models, not in line with the simplicity of basic housing elements. A convenient calculation model for practice, which can capture the semi-rigid behavior of the connections and predict the effective bending stiffness, was thus introduced and subjected to large-scale bending tests. The proposed model was in good agreement with the experimental results, highlighting the importance of the connection behavior. The in-plane behavior of through-tenon connections for several timber panel materials was characterized through an experimental campaign to determine the load-carrying capacity and slip modulus required for calculation models. Based on the test results, existing guidelines were evaluated to safely apply these connections in structural elements while a finite element model was developed to approximate their performance. This work constitutes a firm basis for the optimization of design guidelines and the creation of an extensive database on digitally produced wood-wood connections. Finally, this thesis provides a convenient design framework for the newly developed standardized timber construction system and a solid foundation for research into digitally produced wood-wood connections.
... Automobile, marine 8 and air plane designers make mockups to study the aesthetics, 9 dynamics, and mechanics of their products [2][3][4] . Architects make 10 scaled models to understand the interaction between a building 11 and an environment [5] . From a designer's point of view, physical 12 prototypes are best to be created with low cost, in a short time, 13 while having good fidelity and strength because they are supposed 14 to be used for just-in-time evaluation [6] . ...
... Designers also see oppor- 33 tunities to automate part of the process and come up with creative 34 solutions. Sass [10,11] proposed a shape grammar to streamline 35 the generation of interlocking planar parts to produce house 36 models. He used computer-numerically controlled (CNC) machines 37 to fabricate the parts. ...
Article
A generative method based on computer algorithms is proposed to automatically produce parts of planar structures ready for fabrication. The parts resemble surface patches of the digital model of a structure. Each part is generated with bevel joints on the edges so that part-to-part connection is enabled by friction of the joints. The shape of a bevel joint is determined by the interior angle between two parts, and is modelled by a number of parameters, including the thickness of a planar material in use. The bevel joints consist of slanted planes, and in principle when they are assembled, no gap exists on the surface of the physical structure. Due to the slanted planes, the joints cannot be fabricated by a laser cutter that can only produce vertical cuts. We experimented the fabrication with a three-axis CNC router and a 3D printer; both produced accurate and robust parts; however, there is limitation in using a CNC cutter, which is discussed in details.
... Even though these machines frequently lack closed loop control, the industry is currently better prepared to implement and evaluate these systems. There are a number of attempts to create a full digital pipeline from the client to the finished building, such as Duarte's (2005) discursive grammar for Malagueira or the Wood Frame Grammar and Instant House (Sass 2005;Sass 2006;Botha & Sass 2006;Cardoso & Sass 2008). These examples are incomplete systems as they approach only a part of the whole problem. ...
... Corner conditions is an expression used bySass (2006) to refer to the geometry of the corner joints and type of structural stresses that are concentrated on this point. ...
Article
Full-text available
Recentes desenvolvimentos nos métodos computacionais e a sua integração com processos de fabricação digital permitem perspectivar um paradigma de fabricação personalizada. O referido paradigma é particularmente adequado à realidade da reabilitação de edifícios construídos com técnicas tradicionais, um corpo diversificado em que as intervenções são por natureza cirúrgicas e singulares, e em que os tabiques desempenham um papel importante na intervenção. O aglomerado negro de cortiça e o OSB (Oriented Strand Board), materiais naturais e renováveis, podem ter um papel central num sistema material que responda a este contexto. Cork re-Wall é um sistema construtivo parametricamente modelado, constituído por estrutura de madeira e placas compostas, de aglomerado negro de cortiça e contraplacado, e um processo digital file-to-factory que permite gerar soluções personalizadas de alta qualidade para contextos de projecto diversos.
... Yapım grameri çalışmaları, tasarımların bir dizi komut aracılığıyla hayata geçirilmesine odaklanmıştır (Stiny, 2015). Bu bağlamda, malzemeyi açıkça işleyerek ortaya çıkan biçimleri keşfetmeye (Gürsoy ve Özkar, 2015;Knight ve diğ., 2008;MacLachlan ve Jowers, 2016), malzeme ve bağlantı detayına ilişkin yapı bileşenlerinin montaj sürecini sistematize etmeye dayanan (Knight ve diğ., 2008;Sass, 2006Sass, , 2008 çeşitli uygulamalı yapım süreçleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. ...
Article
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Bilgisayar destekli tasarım ve üretim araçlarına olan erişimin artmasıyla birlikte sonuç ürünün deneysel ve yinelemeli yapım süreçleri sonunda ortaya çıktığı zanaat üretimi, mimarların ve tasarımcıların ilgisini çekmiştir. Tasarım ve yapım ortamının potansiyelini yaratıcı şekilde kullanma olarak tanımlanan dijital zanaatta ise, sadece fiziksel değil dijital nesne, veri ve algoritmalar da dijital zanaatkarın geliştirip kollektif şekilde paylaştığı ürünler haline gelmiştir. Bu güncel zeminde, yeni dijital ortamlar kurgulamak günümüz mimar ve tasarımcıları için araştırılması gereken yeni bir alan olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Mimarlıkta dijital ve fiziksel ortamlar arasındaki bilgi türlerinin çevrimi ve aktarımına ilişkin literatür çalışmalarının, ilgili çalışmaların sınıflandırılması açısından sınırlı olduğu izlenmiştir. Bu makale kapsamında, mimarlıktaki yapım süreçlerinde işlenen bilgi türleri arasındaki çevrimlerin dijital zanaat bağlamında kullanım olanaklarının ortaya konulması amaçlanmaktadır. Bu makalenin özgün katkısı olarak; dijital miras çalışmaları, geleneksel zanaat yapım süreçlerinin çözümlenmesi ve hibrit yapım ortamları geliştirilmesi mimarlığın zanaat ile temasta olduğu noktalar olarak belirlenmiş ve örnekler üzerinden açıklanmıştır. Makalenin sonuç bölümde ise mimarlıkta yapım bilgisinin parametrik hale getirilmesi ve dijitalleştirilmesi konusundaki potansiyeller ve kısıtlar tartışılmıştır.
... Engineering applications include houses [13], towers [103], [104], halls [105], bridges, [106], trusses [41] or geodesic domes [15], [16]. Some applications are specific to a fabrication technology, like CNC machines [107], [108], instead of a structural system. Force grammars describe the organisation between forces, as opposed to the one between spaces or elements, which can later materialise into a structure. ...
Chapter
Full-text available
This chapter provides a methodological overview of generative design in architecture, especially highlighting the commonalities between three separate lineages of generative approaches in architectural design, namely the mathematical optimization methods for topology optimization and shape optimization, generative grammars (shape grammars and graph grammars), and [agent-based] design games. A comprehensive definition of generative design is provided as an umbrella term referring to the mathematical, grammatical, or gamified methodologies for systematic synthesis, i.e. derivation, itemization, or exploration of configurations. Among other points, it is shown that generative design methods are not necessarily meant to automate design but rather provide structured mechanisms to facilitate participatory design or creative mass customization. Effectively, the chapter provides the theoretical minimum for understanding generative design as a paradigm in computational design; demystifies the term generative design as a technological hype; shows a precis of the history of the generative approaches in architectural design; provides a minimalist methodological framework summarising lessons from the three lineages of generative design; and deepens the technological discourse on generative design methods by reflecting on the topological constructs and techniques required for devising generative systems or design machines, including those equipped with Artificial Intelligence. Moreover, the notions of discrete design and design for discrete assembly are discussed as precursors to the core concept of design as decision-making in generative design, thus hinting to avenues of future research in manufacturing-informed combinatorial mass customization and discrete architecture in tandem with generative design methods.
... The studies of making grammar have focused on the materialization of the designs through a set of instructions [42]. Following this argument, several hands-on making processes have been formalized to explicitly manipulate the material and discover emergent forms [16,20,26] and systematize the assembly process of building components related to the material and connection detail as a method of mass customization [20,23,36,37]. However, the examined studies are limited to the partial visualization of the performance of manual making, or automating the manufacturing and assembly processes rather than modifying or developing digital tools and processes derived from the making with manual tools. ...
Article
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This paper aims to illuminate ways in which digital tools can be used to translate tacit knowledge to further analyze and evaluate the hands-on making processes with craft tools. The research methodology reviews and analyses the making grammar studies and digital tools developed by makers to suggest a procedure for parametrization and digitalization of craft processes. As a case study, the extrusion process conducted with a manual clay extruder (MCE) is examined and a parametric model derived from physical making is generated in Rhinoceros Grasshopper environment. The correlation between the physical and digital medium is measured with photogrammetry and written scripts by comparing produced forms. The developed parametric model is found to be useful in enhancing the maker's knowledge through correlating the parameters of making and evaluating the process as an extension of the maker's toolset. The parametric model can be further used to fabricate the digitalized versions of handmade artifacts with digital fabrication tools and communicate the making knowledge through virtual guilds.
... Current studies in Digital Fabrication focus on automating design and fabrication of assemblies of planar interlocking parts that are manufactured at custom shapes using 3-axis CNC routers (Sass 2006). These studies explore the limitations of design by manufacturability and assemblability. ...
... Sass lays the foundations for software that will allow easy layout, cutting, and assembly of a three-dimensional (3D) model, thereby reducing the laborious work of shifting from a 3D model to a two-dimensional (2D) file for CNC machine cutting, by applying shape grammar methods to generate a wooden frame house. 16 Additional precedents have attempted to use hightech thinking with low-tech means to empower local communities. The FabFi near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, by the Center for Bits and Atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, done in 2009, helped communities build their own wireless networks and to gain high-speed Internet connectivity. ...
Article
Political conflicts have increasingly displaced people from their homes, necessitating various forms of temporary structures and housing. However, these shelters are often one-size-fits-all and do not take into account the individual requirements, family structures, or cultural needs of these communities. This article explores how digital fabrication can be used to empower disenfranchised communities to act as their own architects. Because the police demolish the structures in Al Araqib every 3 weeks, the residents have to rebuild their structures, and appropriate architecture as a resistance tool, and not only as a housing solution. This circumstance allows us to develop a structure designed primarily for the condition of rapid disassembly that can additionally be produced with a low-tech setup of a mobile computer numerical control router. Through this case study with the Bedouin village Al Araqib in the Negev Desert, we introduce the term community-specific design, present our methodology for designing and fabricating a temporary structure in collaboration with the community, and outline the logistics for a future mobile infrastructure. Beyond aiding the Bedouin’s fight for justice, our intention as designers, acutely aware of the power of technology and architecture, is to harness both physical and digital tools in an effort to create innovative systems that can be leveraged by unrecognized populations struggling for cultural survival.
... The concept of the "digital chain" or "file-to-factory" processes has been explored by researchers and also in several teaching projects during the last few years, see for instance Kolarevic, 2003;Sass, 2004;Aitcheson, Friedman and Siebom, 2005;Rüdenauer, 2005;Fricker and Zieta, 2006;Neumann, 2006 and There are also several projects in full scale -Session 01: Digital Applications in Construction based on a digital production chain; see for instance Surjan and Horton, 2004;Harfmann, 2004;Iwamoto, 2004;Stacey, 2007;Neumann, 2007. Our project may thus be regarded as a contribution to the line of 1:1 experiments realized through a digital chain. ...
Conference Paper
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This paper discusses a project where we, together with a group of 15 graduate students, designed, produced, and built small timber structure (a Camera Obscura) in Trondheim, Norway. The project was part of a full semester course at the Faculty of Architecture of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The main purpose of the course was to explore the possibilities of prefabrication in timber construction based on file-to-factory processes (digital fabrication). Moreover, we wished to give the students the experience of building a permanent structure in 1:1.
... It offers an alternative to bonding process and steel fasteners for small and medium-sized timber companies, which generally have the required production tools (CAD, CAM, and CNC). The wood grammar frame, presented by Sass et al. [14,15] in 2006, describes the use of a new digital workflow from design to production for standard housing components using wood-wood connections. It introduces 2D flat-packs directly delivered on site, where all the different elements of a 3D component, a slab for example, are assembled to minimize the volume transported. ...
Article
Full-text available
Wood-wood connections, widely used in the past, have been progressively replaced by steel fasteners in timber constructions. Currently, they can be manufactured and implemented more efficiently thanks to digital fabrication techniques. In addition, with the emergence of new timber plate engineered products, digitally produced wood-wood connections have been developed with a strong focus on complex free-form geometries. The gained knowledge through research and building implementations have pushed the development of more standardized structural elements. As a result, this work presents a new concept of building components using through tenon connections based on the idea of transportable flat-packs directly delivered and assembled on site. The main objective of this research is to develop a convenient calculation model for practice that can capture the semi-rigid behavior of the connections and predict the effective bending stiffness of such structural elements. A case study is used as a reference with three large-scale slabs of a 8.1 m span. Bending and vibration tests are performed to study the mechanical behavior and assess the proposed calculation method. The results show the high influence of the semi-rigid behavior of connections on the bending properties and, therefore, on the serviceability limit state. The model is in good agreement with the test results, and further improvements can be made regarding the local behavior of the connection. This study demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed construction system and the applicability of the developed calculation model to design practice.
... According to Kolarevic (2015), the enabling technologies are available so the main challenge is the development of interfaces for customization. The Instant House (Sass and Botha, 2006;Cardoso and Sass, 2008) and the underlying Wood Frame Grammar (Sass, 2006) are paradigmatic examples of integration of generative processes with digital fabrication, however they only approach part of the construction problem, ignoring thermal and acoustic issues or the integration of infrastructural systems. The need to communicate the assembly or disassembly processes are not considered either. ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Developments in computational design methods and their integration with digital fabrication processes enable us to envisage a mass customized fabrication paradigm. Such is particularly suited to building renovation, a diversified corpus in which interventions are surgical and unique, and where partition walls are the most frequently replaced components. The main objective is to develop a disassemble-able and customizable solution of partition walls, with natural and renewable materials, insulation cork board and wood, for the context of building renovation. To meet this end is necessary to develop the construction system, the generative process for digital design and fabrication and a graphical user interface for building owners to interact. This design-to-production system will generate drawings for fabrication, instructions for assembly, and cost estimation. We foresee that the adoption of a file-to-factory process will present several advantages in this context: maximizing efficiency and speed of the construction process without reducing scope or increasing cost, contributing to a more sustainable construction process.
... One of the requirements of CRW (Figure 1) was to reinstate the use of traditional materials in a context of scarceness of craftsmen knowledgeable of traditional building techniques. In order to achieve this objective the construction system follows a similar approach to assembly as it's found in Sass's Wood Frame Grammar (2005;2006). All the pieces are friction fit without the need of special connectors to hold the parts of the wall's structure together. ...
Chapter
Developments in computational design methods and their integration with digital fabrication processes are ushering a customized fabrication paradigm. This paradigm is particularly suited to small self-built refurbishments, a diversified corpus in which interventions are surgical and unique, and where partition walls play a central role. Cork, OSB and plywood, natural and renewable materials, can have an important part in a material system that responds to this context. Cork re-Wall is a parametrically modelled construction system and a file-to-factory digital process with the aim to generate high quality custom solutions that respond to diverse refurbishment design challenges. In order to communicate the assembly sequence to and end user, without previous construction experience, a simple set of instructions must be prepared. This paper presents a process to automatically generate unique building instructions for each Cork Re-Wall solution.
... Generative design can be used in concert with digital fabrication to enable rapid construction of customised physical models [1,6]. However an intermediate translation step is required, defined as a construction grammar [7]. ...
Article
This paper presents a design-to-fabrication process for folded sandwich structures that comprises surface to pattern conversion, manufacture rationalisation, and integral connection superposition. Folded sandwich structures are shown to possess a tessellated, origami-like structural form in which building component parameters are inherently dependant upon building surface parameters. Structural forms can therefore be designed with a minimum number of unique parts and with simultaneous consideration of surface and component constraints. The design-to-fabrication process is demonstrated for the Plate House, a cardboard shelter designed to meet transitional shelter packaged and deployed volume requirements. Additional prototypes are presented to demonstrate an extended set of parametric edge connection details for the production of cardboard, plywood, or steel folded sandwich structures. Prototypes are also presented to demonstrate how the method can be applied generally for the digital fabrication of developable 3D surfaces with a known crease pattern.
... A lattice of beams follow the axes and connect structurally at intersections (Figure 1, top right). If the members at joints meet at perpendicular angles, then this approach allows curved 3D gridshells to be achieved from 2D elements, using simple and economical joints (Sass 2005). With oblique angles-in the case of a triangulated lattice, for instance-the beams do not meet perpendicularly and their construction therefore requires 3D fabrication. ...
Article
Full-text available
We introduce a method for creating free-form architectural structures out of 2D domain line networks. The resulting structure combines principles of thin shell and single-layer grid structures. The innovation lies in a three-dimensional geometrical arrangement, where all structural elements can be cut out of flat panels. The advantage of the proposed method is that structural support systems can be created for a wide variety of line networks using simple cutting technology (e.g. saws, laser-cutters, 3 axis CNC routers), making the construction of geometrically complex structures accessible to a wider audience at a significantly lower cost. We illustrate theoretical possibilities of the approach and demonstrate a full-scale application on a 200 square-meter pavilion built from plywood panels and clad with sheet-metal tiles at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. An analogous approach can be used with a high degree of flexibility to fabricate complex structures of different shape and pattern for various building applications.
... Interlocking planar structures derived from 3D mesh models were introduced broadly by architects and engineers as a means to design and produce complex structures efficiently [10]. A system approach used to generate wooden structures was demonstrated and organized as a grammar, the main result of which was a plywood cabin built of interlocking parts [11,12]. Rules within the system were designed to guide modeling when decomposing an initial shape model into interlocking components. ...
Article
For designers, digital manufacturing machines, such as laser cutters and CNC machines, support rapid prototyping of low-cost, low fidelity physical models. These machines can be used as an alternative to additive manufacturing. Unfortunately there are few CAD tools that provide access for fabrication of complex 3D geometries with these 2D fabrication machines. The literature contains a few novel systems that generate planar structures as models built of layered material or as interlocking planes with unique joining features. In this paper, a Fresh Press modeler is presented as a novel system that generates tailored geometry for ease of assembly. A major benefit of Fresh Press is the ability to produce fabrication data leading to a watertight planar structure. Assembly between planes is sustained by interlocking finger joints generated on each planar component of the model. The Fresh Press modeler parameterizes planar surfaces and interlocking features for user control and model quality. We end by demonstrating the system with examples of solid models and negative models used for mold making.
... Starting with a building model as a solid shape, the inner and outer surfaces are remodeled as sheets with thickness (stage 1). A construction grammar of rules based on a new system for plywood construction is employed to further subdivided sheets into smaller components with limits based on the extent of the CNC router [14]. Between sheathing layers studs (of the same sheet material) are generated at intervals in horizontal and vertical directions. ...
Article
Full-text available
A system that guides the physical production of building construction with one digital fabrication device is presented. It is a rule based system for wood frame construction that generates construction information for the production of design artifacts; as design models or full scale buildings. The goal of the research was preparation for an automated system that supports generative design production. Examples of the system are presented in the form of models and as a full scale building.
... The concept of the " digital chain " or " file-to-factory " processes has been explored by researchers and also in several teaching projects during the last few years, see for instance Kolarevic, 2003; Sass, 2004; Aitcheson, Friedman and Siebom, 2005; Rüdenauer, 2005; Fricker and Zieta, 2006; Neumann, 2006 and 2007. There are also several projects in full scale eCAADe 25 53 - Session 01: Digital Applications in Construction based on a digital production chain; see for instance Surjan and Horton, 2004; Harfmann, 2004; Iwamoto, 2004; Stacey, 2007; Neumann, 2007. ...
Article
This paper discusses a project where we, together with a group of 15 graduate students, designed, produced, and built small timber structure (a Camera Obscura) in Trondheim, Norway. The project was part of a full semester course at the Faculty of Architecture of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The main purpose of the course was to explore the possibilities of prefabrication in timber construction based on file-to-factory processes (digital fabrication). Moreover, we wished to give the students the experience of building a permanent structure in 1:1.
... The use of generative methods in design confines a new domain in thinking [3] but also, in design education [4], [5]. Finally, rapid prototyping and digital fabrication have been used as transferring mechanisms between the physical and the digital domain [6], [7], [8]. Particular to this study is the use of digital fabrication from virtual models and drawings. ...
Article
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The paper examines the process of introducing the rudiments of architectural design and computation through computer modeling, rendering and digital fabrication. The scope of the paper is educational. The context of the paper is the teaching of an introductory course to Design Computing. Computational concepts from the digital modeling, rendering and fabrication techniques developed for the course, as well as the students? response, are discussed in the paper.
Thesis
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Bu çalışmada, tarihi ahşap yapı elemanlarının hasarlı kısımlarının onarımında kullanılmak üzere, geleneksel ahşap birleşim detaylarının bilgisini temel alan kural tabanlı gramer yöntemi geliştirilmiştir. Tespit edilen tarihi ahşap elemanların özgün birleşim detaylarında gömülü olan biçim bilgisi bu kuralların temelini oluşturmuştur. Hesaplamalı tasarım yaklaşımıyla ahşap birleşim detaylarına göre geri beslenerek olası çıktıları oluşturan kural tabanlı yöntem uygulanmıştır. Bu bağlamda geliştirilen türetken sistemle, ahşap elemanlarda hasarlı kısımlarının onarımına yönelik olası biçimsel çıktılar dijital ortamda oluşturulmuştur. Bu sürece bağlı oluşturulan iş akış modelinde, somut ve somut olmayan mirasın belgelenmesi sağlanmıştır. Dijital ortamda elde edilen biçimsel çıktıların değerlendirilmesi, onarım süreçlerinde disiplinlerarası kolektif çalışma ortamı sunulmuştur. Bunun sonucunda alışagelmiş onarımın aksine erişilebilir, sürdürülebilir, esnek ve kontrol edilebilir çalışma ortamı sağlanmıştır. In this study, a rule-based grammar method founded on traditional production methodologies has been developed for use in repairing damaged parts of historic structural elements. The formal information embedded within the joint details of the identified historic timber elements has formed the basis of these rules. The rule-based method has been considered within the context of computational design (CD) because it generates potential outputs by feedback based on the timber joint details. In this context, the developed generative system has created possible formal outputs for the repair of damaged parts in timber elements in a digital environment. The workflow model created in relation to this process has documented both tangible and intangible heritage. The evaluation of formal outputs obtained in the digital environment has provided an interdisciplinary collective working environment in repair processes. As a result, unlike conventional repair methods, an accessible, sustainable, flexible, and controllable working environment has been established
Article
Sheet Metal (SM) fabrication is perhaps one of the most common metalworking technique. Despite its prevalence, SM design is manual and costly, with rigorous practices that restrict the search space, yielding suboptimal results. In contrast, we present a framework for the first automatic design of SM parts. Focusing on load bearing applications, our novel system generates a high-performing manufacturable SM that adheres to the numerous constraints that SM design entails: The resulting part minimizes manufacturing costs while adhering to structural, spatial, and manufacturing constraints. In other words, the part should be strong enough, not disturb the environment, and adhere to the manufacturing process. These desiderata sum up to an elaborate, sparse, and expensive search space. Our generative approach is a carefully designed exploration process, comprising two steps. In Segment Discovery connections from the input load to attachable regions are accumulated, and during Segment Composition the most performing valid combination is searched for. For Discovery, we define a slim grammar, and sample it for parts using a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach, ran in intercommunicating instances (i.e, chains) for diversity. This, followed by a short continuous optimization, enables building a diverse and high-quality library of substructures. During Composition, a valid and minimal cost combination of the curated substructures is selected. To improve compliance significantly without additional manufacturing costs, we reinforce candidate parts onto themselves --- a unique SM capability called self-riveting. we provide our code and data in https://github.com/amir90/AutoSheetMetal. We show our generative approach produces viable parts for numerous scenarios. We compare our system against a human expert and observe improvements in both part quality and design time. We further analyze our pipeline's steps with respect to resulting quality, and have fabricated some results for validation. We hope our system will stretch the field of SM design, replacing costly expert hours with minutes of standard CPU, making this cheap and reliable manufacturing method accessible to anyone.
Book
This book explores various digital representation strategies that could change the future of wooden architectures by blending tradition and innovation. Composed of 61 chapters, written by 153 authors hailing from 5 continents, 24 countries and 69 research centers, it addresses advanced digital modeling, with a particular focus on solutions involving generative models and dynamic value, inherent to the relation between knowing how to draw and how to build. Thanks to the potential of computing, areas like parametric design and digital manufacturing are opening exciting new avenues for the future of construction. The book’s chapters are divided into five sections that connect digital wood design to integrated approaches and generative design; to model synthesis and morphological comprehension; to lessons learned from nature and material explorations; to constructive wisdom and implementation-related challenges; and to parametric transfigurations and morphological optimizations.
Chapter
Architecture, engineering, and construction industries maintain a long standing desire to enhance design communication through various forms of 3D CAD modeling. In spite the introduction of Building Information Modeling (BIM), designers and builders expect varying amounts of communication loss once construction has started due to indirect construction techniques or hand based methods to manufacture buildings. This is especially true for houses and small structures, buildings that makeup the core of villages and suburbs. Unfortunately, paper documentation and reading 3D CAD models on screen continue the trend of indirect production defined in most manufacturing industries as error. The emerging application of CAD/CAM within design and construction industries provides hope for elevated communication between design and building. With CAD/CAM, it is possible to manufacture buildings of all types and sizes directly from CAD files similar to mass produced artifacts, thus reducing complexity in communication between parties. This chapter is presentation of one process of direct manufacturing from CAD and the emerging possibilities for small building production using digital fabrication. The chapter will focus on houses to illustrate the potential of direct manufacturing of buildings from CAD data.
Thesis
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Shell-like structures allow to elegantly and efficiently span large areas. Quad meshes are natural patterns to represent these surface objects, which can also serve for mapping other patterns. Patterns for these shells, vaults, grid- shells or nets can represent the materialised structure, the force equilibrium or the surface map. The topology of these patterns constrains their qualitative and quantitative modelling freedom for geometrical exploration. Unless topological exploration is enabled. Parametric design supporting exploration and optimisation of the geometry of structures is spreading across the community of designers and builders. Unfortunately, topological design is lagging, despite some optimisation-oriented strategies for specific design objectives. Strategies, algorithms and tools for topological exploration are necessary to tackle the multiple objectives in architecture, engineering and construction for the design of structures at the architectural scale. The task of structural design is rich and complex, calling for interactive algorithms oriented towards co-design between the human and the machine. Such an approach is complementary and empowered with existing methods for geometrical exploration and topology optimisation. The present work introduces topology finding for efficient search across the topological design space. This thesis builds on three strategies for topology finding of singularities in quad-mesh patterns, presented from the most high-level to the most low-level approach. Geometry-coded exploration relies on a skeleton-based quad decomposition of a surface including point and curve features. These geometrical parameters can stem from design heuristics to integrate into the design, related to the statics system or the curvature of the shell, for instance. Graph-coded exploration relies on the topological strips in quad meshes. A grammar of rules allows exploration of this strip structure to search the design space. A similarity-informed search algorithm finds design with different degrees of topological similarity. Designs optimised for single objectives can inform this generation process to obtain designs offering different trade-offs between multiple objectives. A two-colour search algorithm finds designs that fulfil a two-colouring requirement of two-colouring. This topological property allows a partition of the pattern elements that many structural systems necessitate. String-coded exploration relies on the translation of the grammar rules into alphabetical operations, shifting encoding from a phenotype mesh to a genotype string. Modifications, or mutations, of the string transform the genotype and change the phenotype of the design. String or vector encoding opens for the use of search and optimisation algorithms, like linear programming, genetic algorithms or machine learning. Keywords: structural design, topological exploration, patterns, quad meshes, singularities, topology finding, shells, gridshells.
Article
This paper presents a detailed geometric design-to-fabrication procedure for a new type of timber sandwich structure that combines a folded assembly method and integral mechanical joints. The paper also investigates the hypothesis that such a combination creates a fast and highly-accurate assembly method for modular timber construction. A digital design procedure is first presented and includes a computational method to segment and unfold a target building profile and a computational method to digitally-fabricate segments as timber sandwich panels with integral press-fit and rotational press-fit (RPF) joints. Two structures were built to validate the procedure and hypothesised construction speed: a 30m² house comprising 6 identical folded timber arches, built in one week; and a 42m² canopy structure comprising 4 pairs of varying folded timber `wings', built in two weeks. The as-built structures were 3D scanned and a defect analysis was conducted to assess the reliability and precision of assembled geometries. Both structures were highly accurate, with average absolute surface error generally less than the thickness of the timber material and an average angular defect for RPF joints generally less than 1 degree. In the few regions where larger surface error was observed, a strong correlation was seen with angular defect error and joint interlock failure in RPF joints at that location. Preliminary structural testing of the system also showed it to have a good load carrying capacity for its weight.
Chapter
The contemporary development and digital culture in architecture, from the idea to the realization, lead to a rewriting of the coordinates of the deep relation between model and pre-figuration, especially in the timber structure field. Artificial intelligence opened new potentialities that rewrite the project paths through the evaluation of computational design, with a model set as the place of simulation and experimentation, in order to locate solutions for more and more high requests made by architecture. Wood’s natural intelligence inspires artificial intelligence’s principles, and it is projected as the new frontier of the research, in its possibility of defying optimized solutions also in function of multiples objectives and parameters. Wooden architecture design correlated to a history of tradition, which is established on descriptive geometry, finds today multiple application fields for the research. In this sense, representation supports the knowledge and the innovation, able to continue and express its operative aspect full of culture and, at the same time, its tecné sense, which etymologically it is meant as art and technique. The present chapter shows different ways to apply the contemporary principle of descriptive geometry in digital wood design research, in a multidisciplinary and contaminated learning environment. In all the illustrated cases, the generative design has a central role, in an integration addressed to the need of optimization of architectural form, using Genetic algorithms in order to analyze and to understand the relationship between form, geometry, and construction.
Article
A rapid prototyping system for creating large-scale physical objects directly from computer models is introduced. Several production modalities incorporated in the system can be used to produce objects in different scales and types. Parts of the objects are generated by computational algorithms with appealing features that enable CNC manufacturing and facilitate manual assembly. Experiments have shown that man is an important factor of the production process even though the system has automated majority of part generation and fabrication. We show several large models created from the system, discuss problems associated with large-scale prototyping, and present potential applications of the proposed methods.
Article
Lightweight, thermally insulated, temporary shelters are essential for disaster relief and military operations. To minimize cost and increase sustainability, it is advantageous to reduce wasted material in manufacturing these shelters. This paper investigates quilt patterns – designs of interlocking geometric shapes – as inspiration for structural topologies that can be manufactured from flat sheets with minimal wasted material (shape interfaces serve as cut and fold lines). A series of quilt-inspired concepts based on established quilt patterns are developed into structural topologies using shape grammar rules. The detailed finite element analysis and design of three concepts is presented. To achieve a lightweight, thermally insulated design, the structures are comprised of sandwich panels (fiber-reinforced polymer faces and a foam core). The performance of each design is compared to an existing rigid wall shelter, demonstrating the efficacy of quilt-inspired forms. This paper is the first investigation of quilting as inspiration for structural systems.
Article
Full-text available
Architecture, engineering, and construction industries maintain a long standing desire to enhance design communication through various forms of 3D CAD modeling. In spite the introduction of Building Information Modeling (BIM), designers and builders expect varying amounts of communication loss once construction has started due to indirect construction techniques or hand based methods to manufacture buildings. This is especially true for houses and small structures, buildings that makeup the core of villages and suburbs. Unfortunately, paper documentation and reading 3D CAD models on screen continue the trend of indirect production defined in most manufacturing industries as error. The emerging application of CAD/CAM within design and construction industries provides hope for elevated communication between design and building. With CAD/CAM, it is possible to manufacture buildings of all types and sizes directly from CAD files similar to mass produced artifacts, thus reducing complexity in communication between parties. This chapter is presentation of one process of direct manufacturing from CAD and the emerging possibilities for small building production using digital fabrication. The chapter will focus on houses to illustrate the potential of direct manufacturing of buildings from CAD data.
Article
Visual schemas are prequels to shape rules in formalizing the pedagogical discussions in foundational design studios. Keywordsdesign analysis–design theory–shape grammars–shapes–symmetry groups
Chapter
This paper puts forward the concept of Generative Fabrication as a framework for exploring the potential of material and device-specific design grammars to act both as machine-readable information and as platforms for creative design exploration. A series of experiments and prototypes are presented and discussed.
Conference Paper
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We describe the first steps in the adoption of Shape Grammars with Grammatical Evolution for application in Evolutionary Design. Combining the concepts of Shape Grammars and Genetic Programming opens up the exciting possibility of truly generative design assist tools. In this initial study we provide some background on the adoption of grammar-based Genetic Programming for Evolutionary Design, describe Shape Grammars, and give a brief overview of Grammatical Evolution before detailing how Grammatical Evolution used Shape Grammars to successfully rediscover some benchmark target structures.
Conference Paper
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In 1995, Robin Evans points out in his book The Projective Cast how the development of techniques changed architecture and the space inhabited in times of Gothic and early Renaissance. We see a parallel phenomenon today, where the interplay of technology and tool gives shape to new design (Kolarevic 2005). Yet in opposition to the interwoven fields of design and craft of the late Gothic, today?s building sector is enormously diversified, and a growing complexity in the building process and number of used materials can be observed. This gives an opposite point of departure into a more integrated field of design and innovation in architectural design and building industry.
Article
Through a novel design production system, we have developed the ability to produce highly customized wood framed buildings for rural communities in need of designed environments. A definitive need exists for a system that rapidly deploys small buildings such as schools, small hospitals and houses while tailored for a specific design within a community. This paper describes the relationship of digital fabrication to materials and rules for design and fabrication. By example, this paper presents a process of construction of a small house on-site from an initial computer model in sequential stages. Our case study in this paper will express possibilities with digital fabrication for building with designed variation.
Article
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A framework for the generation and fabrication of architectural massing designs is presented. The framework consists of a computer program, which generates designs based on shape grammars, and rapid prototyping technologies that produce physical models of generated designs. The goal is to illustrate how geometrically complex designs, difficult to produce by hand, can be generated based on a few basic shapes and rules. The software developed uses Java, Open Inventor and cutting-edge 3D graphics technology. The extension of the proposed framework to one using the World Wide Web is briefly discussed.
Conference Paper
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The topic of this paper is the connection of digital modeling with generative programming and rapid prototyping, to produce physical sketch surface models. The physical surface models are assembled out of developable strips connected through a puzzle-like detail. The use of programming as a design approach allows the generation of connection details that corresponds to the rules of flat sheet rapid prototyping techniques of laser cutting and water jet cutting. With numerically controlled cutting, there is no need to keep the joint detail related to manually achievable forms or to apply a standardized dimension. This paper demonstrates the possibilities of programming to generate cutting geometries that adapt to the local surface properties. The larger perspective of the research approach is the question of how to formulate and capture design intention through programming. What influence does the use of generative modeling in combination with rapid prototyping have on the design language of physical objects?
Article
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Shape grammars are specified that generate houses in the Queen Anne style which dominated domestic architecture in the United States of America in the 1880s; examples are used which are typical for Pittsburgh's historic Shadyside district. Separate grammars are given for the generation of plans and for the articulation of plans in three dimensions. Both grammars emphasize aspects of geometry and overall design and explain how individual parts and features are related to each other.
Article
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.
Article
The following parametric shape grammar generates the compositional forms and specifies the function zones of Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie-style houses. The establishment of a fireplace is the key to the definition of the prairie-style house. Around this fireplace, functionally distinguished Froebelean-type blocks are recursively added and interpenetrated to form the basic compositions from which elaborated prairie-style houses are derived. The grammar is based on a corpus of eleven houses from the Winslow house, the evolutionary precursor of the style, to the Robie house, considered by many as the culmination of the style. Much has been written about prairie-style houses—their balance, their debt to Beaux Arts and Japanese design traditions, and their organic qualities. However, such descriptions do not explicitly inform us as to how prairie-style houses are constructed, and consequently provide little help in designing new members of this style. The power of a grammar, such as the one given here, is that it establishes a recursive structure from which new designs can be constructed. Three new prairie houses generated by the grammar as well as a step-by-step generation of one of these designs are shown.
Article
The definitions pertaining to the shape grammar formalism are developed in detail.
Article
Shape grammars, utilizing function labels, are shown to be applicable to product design. A grammar that describes a language of coffeemakers is presented and shown to generate a large class of coffeemakers currently on the market, as well as new designs that could be introduced to consumers.