Intelligent Critic System for Architectural Design

This paper describes an intelligent computer-aided architectural design system (ICAAD) called ICADS. ICADS encapsulates different types of design knowledge into independent “critic” modules. Each “critic” module possesses expertise in evaluating an architect’s work in different areas of architectural design and can offer expert advice when needed. This research focuses on the representation of spatial information encoded in architectural floor plans and the representation of expert design knowledge. Described in this paper is our research in designing and developing two particular “critic” modules. The first module, FPDX, checks a residential apartment floor plan, verifies that the plan meets a set of government regulations, and offers suggestions for floor plan changes if regulations are not met. The second module, IDX, analyzes room and furniture layout according to a set of interior design guidelines and offers ideas on how furniture should be moved if the placement does not follow good design principles.