Towards a Formal Approach to Generative Design: An Assistant System for the Creation of Artefact Models

In this paper we propose a formal approach to the generative design of artefacts. The founding idea, bridging the gap between the domain of architectural artefacts and the field of ontologies, is to represent the notion of species as it exists in the context of generative design by the concept of class existing in the field of formal ontologies. In this paper we propose an artefact design methodology and a system based on it that assists a designer in the building process of artefact 3D models. The implemented system is structured in three conceptual levels: the Design Strategy, the Computational Model, and the 3D graphical rendering system. The Computational model has been defined and developed using the Frame Logic formalism. The proposed methodology is independent of specific modelling environments. In this paper we also present methodological directions to couple artefact representations with 3D rendering systems.