The urban genome

Abstract

The influence of urban morphology on the energy consumption of a fabric has been recently established by research into the energy use of existing cities. This paper suggests a framework for generating environmentally adapted urban tissue by using genetic algorithms as form-finding processes. A series of multi-objective optimization algorithms are described. The geometric abstractions used as a basis for these algorithms are illustrated in detail, and the results and implications of these types of simulations are discussed. The methodology developed within this paper was tested on one km2 site in three cities of varying climates, and further expanded into a detailed case study within one city. © 2014, The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), Hong Kong.