Supporting design through the strategic use of shape grammars

This paper is concerned with the early processes of design, particularly in the context of spatial arrangements. We are interested in the strategies that a designer uses in order to achieve success and with the opportunities that might exist for computer support. The technical device that provides the focus for the work is the concept of a shape grammar. The investigation that has taken place has looked at certain opportunities that might exist for building support systems employing shape grammars and the implications that they might have for the strategic level of design. From the exploration we conclude that the use of shape grammars to expand the strategies available to a designer and to provide computational support for exploring the implications of employing given sets of design rules is promising. Moreover, we have already identi®ed a number of directions in which the research should be taken further. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.