Shape grammar

The concept of shape grammars was first introduced by George Stiny and James Gips in 1972 to explain generative patterns in paintings and sculptures. Shape grammars are "a set of shape rules that apply in a step-by-step way to generate a set, or language, of designs" (Shape grammars in education and practice, by Terry Knight, 1999) in both 2D and 3D space. They can serve as a simple starting point for sophiscated and complex designs. The graph (source) below demonstrates four simple additive…

From shapes to topologies and back: an introduction to a general parametric shape grammar interpreter - Volume 32 Issue 2

Shape Grammars were first invented by George Stiny and James Gips in their 1972 article Shape Grammars and the Generative Specification of Painting and Sculpture. Shape grammars combine shapes and…

The exploration into means for designing images for the recombinable vector graphics library led me to a foray into the field of shape grammars. This text is of an exploratory nature, and by no mea…

Learning Outcomes 1. Produce new designs using shape grammar method from the student’s own set of rules. Take Taylor's Lakeside as the site, a building for Kayak Club is designed with a reception area, store room, changing room, office and cafe. Using 5 shape rules, 6 designs are creates according to different shape rules. One of the designs is further developed with spaces and facade.