Enabling Flexible Architectural Design Re-representations Using a Phenotype-Based Strategy

Architectural design is driven by qualitative variables like spatial aesthetics and geometry appreciation. At the early explorative stage, flexible re-representation of information is used to discover design solutions. However, in computational design, current data management methods are constrained by genotype and performance representations. These strategies do not enable a similar level of flexibility. As such, this paper presents a phenotype-based strategy that allows design logic to be transferred between computational design processes. Across different design spaces, similar phenotypes can be bridged based on their appearance. This will be demonstrated using room footprints and daylight distribution results which are represented using Elliptical Fourier descriptors and Gabor filters. This enables flexible re-representations as the algorithm can now appreciate geometrical properties. Examples to demonstrate design logic transfer, which are guided by the phenotype space, will be covered in two different scenarios: 1) in a search scenario—where the search direction of an unexplored design space is influenced by learnings from an explored design space, and 2) in a scenario where all design spaces are explored—the data structure and possibilities afforded to new search scenarios.