The CADDIE Project:Applying Knowledge-Based Paradigms to Architectural Layout Generation

The development of systems which produce architectural layouts from a set of spaces has been an objective of design research efforts for more than two decades. These research efforts have spanned a diversity of computational approaches - from the use of mathematical optimization techniques, to the present emphasis on knowledge-based paradigms. The evolution to these knowledge-based paradigms has brought about the initiation of numerous issues to all aspects of layout generation research. Considerations related to one segment of this domain, the conceptual design of architectural floorplans, are addressed in the Computer-Aided Architectural Design Expert (CAADIE) project.

The CAADIE project endeavors to explore the potential for utilizing knowledge-based paradigms in the development of conceptual design diagrams. The system is being developed as a cooperative design tool with which designers can obtain assistance during the creation of space relationship diagrams. The system complements the expertise of designers by using knowledge provided by the designers, in conjunction with the CAADIE knowledge base, to address the multiple design issues and iterative design process associated with the layout generation task. The CAADIE project incorporates several objectives including the development of a cooperative design environment, the development of a model to represent the knowledge and information used by designers during layout conceptualization, and the implementation of a control structure which facilitates a cooperative control strategy. Based on these objectives, a prototype of the CAADIE system has been developed. The prototype demonstrates the viability of the CAADIE concept and the potential for applying knowledge-based paradigms in the earliest phases of architectural design.