Papers by Ramesh Krishnamurti
Many different types of traditional Chinese buildings share quite similar architectural forms. Th... more Many different types of traditional Chinese buildings share quite similar architectural forms. This paper extends a shape grammar for Taiwanese vernacular dwellings (Chiou and Krishnamurti, 1995 a, b, c; 1996) to the traditional temple designs. Our grammar was derived from considerations of the traditional processes of design and construction of Taiwanese vernacular dwellings and from cultural influences. The processes for temple design and construction were similar; consequently, a temple grammar can be derived from this grammar. In this paper, we do so by augmenting the latter with additional rules that take into consideration specific changes to the spatial form that distinguish the traditional temples.
eCAADe proceedings, 2019
This paper reports on the analytical potential of machine learning methods for urban analysis. It... more This paper reports on the analytical potential of machine learning methods for urban analysis. It documents a new method for data-driven urban analysis based on diagrammatic images describing each building in a city in relation to its immediate urban context. By statistically analyzing architectural and contextual features in this new dataset, the method can identify clusters of similar urban conditions and produce a detailed picture of a city's morphological structure. Remapping the clusters from data to 2D space, our method enables a new kind of urban plan that displays gradients of urban similarity. Taking Pittsburgh as a case study we demonstrate this method, and propose``morphological types'' as a new category of urban analysis describing a given city's specific set of distinct morphological conditions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this method and its limitations, as well as its potentials for architecture, urban studies, and computation.
ProQuest LLC eBooks, 2009
This paper comes in three parts. First, relevant principles of fA“ng-shuC are enunciated and exam... more This paper comes in three parts. First, relevant principles of fA“ng-shuC are enunciated and examined. Second, these principles are applied to procedures to compute two parameters of predesign behaviour in Chinese traditional architectural practice: the fortunate orientation for a building site and an auspicious date for the start of its construction. Third, an interactive computer implementation is described that incorporates these procedures.
Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, Sep 23, 2015
Previously, we examined tractable parametric shape grammars (Yue and Krishnamurti, 2013), and dev... more Previously, we examined tractable parametric shape grammars (Yue and Krishnamurti, 2013), and developed a general paradigm for implementing classes of such grammars (Yue and Krishnamurti, 2014). A tractable shape grammar has polynomial computing complexity, and is specified in a way that is readily transformable to a computer program. By contrast, traditionally, shape grammars have been typically developed without a computer implementation in mind, either requiring ambiguity to be clarified, or it is hardly possible for the grammar to be implemented by a polynomial algorithm. Each tractable shape grammar is tied to a particular framework, which is backed by a data structure and supports a metalanguage. In this paper, we illustrate the development of tractable shape grammars by transforming a shape grammar developed, essentially, in traditional fashion for the Baltimore Rowhouse (Hayward 1981; Hayward and Belfoure, 2005). The development is for a specific application context, namely, to determine the interior layout of a building given its external features; and the process serves as a general strategy for developing tractable shape grammars.
This paper presents the development and implementation of an automatic sustainable assessment pro... more This paper presents the development and implementation of an automatic sustainable assessment prototype using functional databases. For the practical purpose, we use Leadership in energy and environmental Design (LeeD) as the exemplar standard to demonstrate the integrative process from building information aggregation to final evaluation. We start with a Building Information model, and use Construction Operations Building Information exchange (COBie) as a bridge to integrate LeeD requirements. At present, the process of sustainable building assessment requires information exchange from various building professionals. However, there is no procedure to manage, or use, information pertaining to sustainability. In our research, we translate rules from LeeD into computable formulas and develop a prototype application to produce templates for LeeD submission.
In this paper, we explore the surface tessellation problem, in particular, the problem of meshing... more In this paper, we explore the surface tessellation problem, in particular, the problem of meshing a surface with the added consideration of incorporating constructible building components. When a surface is tessellated into discrete counterparts, there are certain conditions that usually occur at the boundary of the surface, especially, when the surface is being trimmed, for example, irregularly shaped panels form at the trimmed edges. To reduce the number of irregular panels that may form during the tessellation process, this paper presents an algorithmic approach to optimize the surface tessellation by investigating irregular boundary conditions. The objective of this approach is to provide an alternative way for freeform surface manifestation from a well-structured discrete model of the given surface.
The transformation from the traditional to a sustainable building design process is no longer a q... more The transformation from the traditional to a sustainable building design process is no longer a question of whether to build green but rather how (Kibert 2005). 'Sustainability' in the building sector is codified by standards, which manifest themselves in the form of a 'sustainable' or 'green' building rating system. These systems offer guidelines and means for comparing and benchmarking the performance of buildings with respect to 'green-ness' (Fowler 2007). However, the nature of rating systems for sustainable buildings is such that the standards themselves are a moving target (Williams 2007). In addition to such rating systems, there are other tools available to the modern designer; these include the software design environment augmented by a suite of simulation packages to analyze and verify aspects of performance. These tools are mainly neither integrated as a whole nor provide the guidance required to achieve sustainable design outcomes. In this respect the research described here specifies a shift in paradigm for computer-aided sustainable design, through the deployment of an information framework in combination with computational tools to provide a range of options for achieving desired qualities of sustainability in design.
Automation in Construction
Technology|Architecture + Design
CAADRIA proceedings
A system using exterior observable features to predict the interior layout of those buildings, wh... more A system using exterior observable features to predict the interior layout of those buildings, whose space and topology can be described by shape grammars.
CAADRIA proceedings
We present a novel method for generating building geometry using deep learning techniques based o... more We present a novel method for generating building geometry using deep learning techniques based on contextual geometry in urban context and explore its potential to support building massing. For contextual geometry, we opted to investigate the building footprint, a main interface between urban and architectural forms. For training, we collected GIS data of building footprints and geometries of parcels from Pittsburgh and created a large dataset of Diagrammatic Image Dataset (DID). We employed a modified version of a VGG neural network to model the relationship between (c) a diagrammatic image of a building parcel and context without the footprint, and (q) a quadrilateral representing the original footprint. The option for simple geometrical output enables direct integration with custom design workflows because it obviates image processing and increases training speed. After training the neural network with a curated dataset, we explore a generative workflow for building massing that integrates contextual and programmatic data. As trained model can suggest a contextual boundary for a new site, we used Massigner (Rhee and Chung 2019) to recommend massing alternatives based on the subtraction of voids inside the contextual boundary that satisfy design constraints and programmatic requirements. This new method suggests the potential that learning-based method can be an alternative of rule-based design methods to grasp the complex relationships between design elements.
Journal of Building Engineering, 2022
Formal Methods in Architecture, 2021
Over the last decades, a vast repertoire of computational methods has been employed for the synth... more Over the last decades, a vast repertoire of computational methods has been employed for the synthesis of spatial configuration. Many of these techniques, such as the long-standing black-box optimization or the recent generative adversarial networks, enable a quick exploration of the design solutions based on destructive operations, but encapsulate the generative process, promoting disruptive turn-taking between computer and designer. In contrast, techniques based on agents naturally provide partial design information and enable fine-grained interaction. However, existing agent-based models originate from non-architectural problems, so it is not straightforward to adapt them for spatial design. To address this gap, we present a method to create custom spatial agents that can satisfy architectural requirements. While the method can be adapted to a diversity of representations and goals, we focus on a proof of concept where agents control spatial partitions (represented as polyominoes ...
107th ACSA Annual Meeting Proceedings, Black Box, 2019
Computer-Aided Design, 2018
Shapes are considered as finite arrangements of spatial elements from among points, line and plan... more Shapes are considered as finite arrangements of spatial elements from among points, line and plane segments, circles and ellipses, (circular) arcs, quadratic Bezier curves, of limited but nonzero measure, in 2D and 3D. Augmented shapes are defined as shapes augmented with attributes, e.g., labels, weights, colors, enumerative values, and (parametric) descriptions. Different attribute types specify different behaviors under operations of sum, product and difference and a part relationship. We review different shape attribute propositions from the shape grammar literature and characterize them uniformly. This uniform characterization of augmented shapes is intended to assist in formalizing new shape attribute propositions that may have been visually conceived. Highlights: A uniform characterization of the behavior of different attribute types is presented under operations of sum product and difference, and a part relationship. A uniform description of the behavior of augmented shapes, i.e., shapes with attributes, is presented under the same operations and relationship.
Building information models (BIM) are changing the way building professionals work in building de... more Building information models (BIM) are changing the way building professionals work in building design, construction, and management. In a current research effort at Carnegie Mellon University, we are developing an integrated project model focusing on the construction phase. The premise of this work is that the continuous and immediate availability of the best possible information model provides significant advantage over traditional computer-aided drafting. This project model includes three-dimensional as-designed models, as-built information, and updated design information. The model is the most viable digital representation of a built environment, one that reflects a current status of the building over its lifecycle. We bring the BIM model (which has been updated through the design and construction phases) into the next phase of this building life-cycle, namely, management and operation phase. Building state information is critical for the effective ongoing operation and maintenan...
Proceedings of the 38th International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) [Volume 2]
Agent-based models rely on decentralized decision making instantiated in the interactions between... more Agent-based models rely on decentralized decision making instantiated in the interactions between agents and the environment. In the context of generative design, agent-based models can enable decentralized geometric modelling, provide partial information about the generative process, and enable fine-grained interaction. However, the existing agent-based models originate from non-architectural problems and it is not straightforward to adapt them for spatial design. To address this, we introduce a method to create custom spatial agents that can satisfy architectural requirements and support fine-grained interaction using multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL). We focus on a proof of concept where agents control spatial partitions and interact in an environment (represented as a grid) to satisfy custom goals (shape, area, adjacency, etc.). This approach uses double deep Q-network (DDQN) combined with a dynamic convolutional neural-network (DCNN). We report an experiment where trained agents generalize their knowledge to different settings, consistently explore good spatial configurations, and quickly recover from perturbations in the action selection.
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Papers by Ramesh Krishnamurti