II. Shape Computation Theory
1. Introduction
The study of phenomena aims to establish minimum principles by means of which we can describe
and explain them. A "theory" includes some abstract deductive part and some syntactic, interpretive
part. The deductive part is a calculus: an environment where calculations of some kind can take
place. The syntactic-interpretive part includes statements that assign empirical and practical
meaning to the calculations. The choice of the appropriate calculating environment is important in
the formation of a theory, because it may in advance rule out certain interpretations.
Design phenomena have multiple attributes, which can be distinguished and described: typological,
semantic, psychological, sociological, and more. Shape computation theory deals mainly with form,
the elements of space, and their possible ways of interaction. To capture the interaction of spatial
forms shape computation theory uses a shape calculus, and syntactic-interpretive rules. The shape
calculus is an algebraic framework for shapes. Within this framework spatial elements of 0, 1, 2 and
3 dimensions are used to perform spatial calculations. The syntactic-interpretive part, makes use
of rules that concern the production and interpretation of designs.
The present inquiry is based on the underlying assumption that in design, apart from anything
else, spatial elements are put together in space, to form spatial compositions. Along these lines,
shape computation formalism is used to capture the productive and meaningfull interactions of
spatial elements in space. |
