4.520/4.521
Computational Design I: Theory and Applications
Instructor: Terry Knight
Office: 10-432M
Phone: 617-452-2292
tknight@mit.edu
Units: 3-0-9 (undergraduate)
3-0-6 (graduate)
Prerequisites: None. No background in computing or computer programming is assumed, and computer programming is not a requirement of the subject. Students with interests in any area of design are welcome.
Description
This subject introduces a rule-based or generative approach to design using shape grammars. Shape grammars were one of the first, and remain one of the few, computational design systems that are wholly visual, rather than textual, symbolic, or numerical. They provide a powerful means for design analysis and synthesis, for design exploration, and for generating novel design solutions.
The basics of shape grammars will be introduced through lectures and through in-class, by-hand exercises with simple, abstract shape grammars. A range of applications from stylistic analysis to creative design will be explored. Computer programs for shape grammars will be presented. Readings will supplement lectures.
Course requirements:
8-10 weekly assignments. An end-of-term research or design project.
Format:
Lectures/laboratory/individual tutorials
Topics Covered
Shapes: shape arithmetic, shape symmetry
Rules: labels, parameters
Grammars: style and analysis
Grammars: creative design
Automated Grammars
Computation and Creativity
