Generic representations and the generic grid - Knowledge interface, organisation and support of the (early) design process

Computer Aided Design requires the implementation of architectural issues in order to support the architectural design process. These issues consist of elements, knowledge structures, and design processes that are typical for architectural design. The paper introduces two concepts that aim to define and model some of such architectural issues: building types and design processes. The first concept, the Generic grid, will be shown to structure the description of designs, provide a form-based hierarchical decomposition of design elements, and to provide conditions to accommodate concurrent design processes. The second concept, the Generic representation, models generic and typological knowledge of building types through the use of graphic representations with specific knowledge contents. The paper discusses both concepts and will show the potential of implementing Generic representations on the basis of the Generic grid in CAAD systems.