Mesh Grammars – Procedural Articulation of Form

Abstract

We introduce a formal grammar as a computational approach to the generation of design. While existing shape-grammars transform primitive shapes as lines or rectangles, the presented production system specifically addresses polyhedral objects described by three-dimensional meshes composed of vertices, edges and faces. The parameters of the transformation rules are sensitive to topological and topographical properties of the selected input mesh. We demonstrate that this approach allows the creation of new ornamental structures and can lead to a new language of architectural forms. © 2013, The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), Hong Kong, and Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture (CASA), Department of Architecture-NUS, Singapore.