Freedom through constraints : useroriented architectural design

In order to provide true mass customization in the building industry, customers should be given the ability to modify the design. In order to make this feasible, it is necessary to automate the process of checking whether the designs meet all of the constraints, such as building codes and the architect’s design constraints. To facilitate the entry of these constraints, an algorithm was developed to interpret constraints written in natural language. Despite being an early prototype, the algorithm can already correctly interpret a significant percentage of constraints, as demonstrated by evaluating the performance of the algorithm on a series of design constraints produced by architecture students.