| The relationship between form generation and architectural knowledge has not yet been adequately established in building design. Form generation, addressing issues of stylistic expression and artistic creativity, is often considered exciting and mystical. Architectural knowledge, consisting of data, facts, and procedures, is thought rigid and uninteresting. Nonetheless, It equips architects with the necessary skills to create safe and healthy environments that fulfill their intended function and harmonize with the natural, cultural, and social contexts.; Form generation should not be treated as a separate act of invention, but as an integral part of the design process. It is imperative to examine the underlying factors that inform, regulate, and determine the generation of architectural forms. These factors, which influence design decisions and constitute an architectural knowledge base, consist of: (1) authoritative regulations and standards, (2) programmatic requirements, (3) technology and building materials, (4) physical and socio-cultural environments, and (5) form generation strategies.; Based on a review the generative capability of shape grammar developed by Stiny and Gips (1978), a theoretical framework that integrates a form generation mechanism into an architectural knowledge-based system is developed. The idea of frame (Minsky, 1975) is used as the elementary structure for architectural knowledge representation. To implement the inference process of the knowledge-based system, the framework adopts a KBS development shell, Teknowledge M4.0, to formulate the knowledge bases in the form of production rules system.; The result is a computational framework that links architecture knowledge, i.e. design data, rules, and procedures, to a form generation mechanism. Thanks to the inference engine, this integrated framework produces sufficient and necessary knowledge in support of design decision-making, and facilitates an informed process of form generation. Its functionality is demonstrated by using the tulou, a type of vernacular architecture created by the Hakka Chinese as a case study. By establishing and implementing a design model that bridges form and knowledge, this study makes a contribution to ongoing research towards a comprehensive, rational, and efficient process of architectural design. |
