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Shape Grammar

Shape grammar is a computational method for generating architectural designs using rules that transform initial shapes. George Stiny and James Gips first developed shape grammar in 1971 as a design-oriented generative system. A shape grammar consists of an initial shape, a set of basic shapes, labels or symbols, and rules for transforming shapes. Rules modify shapes by operations like translation, scaling, rotation, and subtraction. Designers control the design process by defining the shape grammar rules and parameters. Shape grammar allows representing architectural knowledge formally and algorithmically to systematically generate new design variations.

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469 views20 pages

Shape Grammar

Shape grammar is a computational method for generating architectural designs using rules that transform initial shapes. George Stiny and James Gips first developed shape grammar in 1971 as a design-oriented generative system. A shape grammar consists of an initial shape, a set of basic shapes, labels or symbols, and rules for transforming shapes. Rules modify shapes by operations like translation, scaling, rotation, and subtraction. Designers control the design process by defining the shape grammar rules and parameters. Shape grammar allows representing architectural knowledge formally and algorithmically to systematically generate new design variations.

Uploaded by

MD WAQAR
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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MAR-206: Digital Architecture

Shape Grammar
Ashhar Saleem | Md. Waqar| Tabish Suhail
Origin & Development

One of the first attempts of using


computational approach in art and
architecture started with work of George
Stiny and James Gips. In their seminal
article published in 1971, they founded
Shape grammar, first design-oriented
generative system.
Shape grammar is a set of rules applied on initial shape to generate designs. The rules are
designed to transform the initial shapes, so the user may decide which rule can be used to
achieve the desired outcome.

Stages in shape grammar design

The initial shape is a square (I). The rule (R) specifies a


possible shape replacement operation, joining two
shapes: a pattern, a square, and its replacement,
the same square with the addition of a translated
copy arranged.
Source: Visual Calculation Through Shape Grammar In Architecture, Anant prakash, Harsh Shekhawat, Gaurav Goyal, IRJET
Fig- Transformation in shapes by using simple shape grammar
Shapes
The term shape is commonly used to refer to the form of an object or its external
boundary (outline, external surface), as opposed to other properties such as
color, texture, material composition. Shape is the arrangement of basic elements
in space. Shapes have a position, orientation, size in a coordinate system.

Arrangement of basic elements in the space


Shape Relation
Spatial relations arise whenever there are two or more shapes in the space. With
the advancement in the field of Geometry which involves spatial relationships
(position, shape and size), substantial values can be derived helping man to think
and find out the value of image produced and how to combine two or three-
dimensional shapes to create new ones in the environment.

Three kinds of shape relations are:

Overlapping - Those shapes that share a common part are said to overlap.

Embedding - If two shapes have common parts and at least one of these shapes
has no part that is not a part of the other, then this shape is said to be embedded
within the other.

Discrete shapes - Planes with no shared boundaries are discrete. However shapes
that share a common boundary but have no part in common are also discrete.
Boolean Operation on shapes
Within the defined shape algebras, we can add and subtract shapes of the same
kind of basic elements.

Boolean operation on shapes

Euclidean transformation on shapes


Euclidean transformations that are used in shape grammars are translation,
scaling, rotating and reflecting along with their combinations.

2D Transformation of shapes
3D Transformation of shapes
Shape Rules
A rule in shape grammars can
be written in the form A B,
where A and B are shapes.

Rules can be modified and


expanded at every stage of a
design process allowing the
designer to make explicit
his/her design knowledge in a
structured framework. The
designer controls form-
generation by explicitly defining
the criteria for new designs that
fit a given context.
Spatial Relation
Spatial relations constrain the ways that a shape in a vocabulary can be combined
with one another. They are simply compositional ideas and are the key to shape
grammars. They also provide contexts to adding and subtracting shapes to create
designs.

Spatial relation can be achieved using shape grammar Based on: Knight, T.W. 2001
The shape Grammar Formalism
The shape grammar formalism allows for algorithms to be defined directly in terms
of labelled shapes and parameterized labelled shapes. Each such algorithm
defines a language of shapes.

A shape grammar has four components:

1) S is a finite set of shapes.

2) L is a finite set of symbols.

3) R is a finite set of shape rules of the form A -+ B, where a is a labelled shape in


(S, L)+, and 0 is a labelled shape in (S, L)*.

4) I is a labelled shape in (S, L)+ called the initial shape.


A shape grammar defines a set of shapes called a language. This language contains
all of the shapes s generated by the shape grammar that have no symbols
associated with them i.e., labelled shapes of the form {s, }. Each of these shapes are
derived from the initial shape by applying the shape rules; each is made up of shapes
or subshapes of shapes in the set S.
Parametric Shape Grammars
Parametric shape grammars are an extension of shape grammars. The new
shape in the RHS of the shape rule is defined by parameters so that it can take
into account more of the context of the already existing shapes. This typically
affects internal proportions of the new shape so that a greater variety of forms
can be created. In this way, attempts are made to make shape grammars
respond to structural conditions, for example the width of beams in roof structures
which depends on span.
Application Of Shape Grammar in Building
Thank You

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