A shape grammar approach to contextual design: A case study of the Pol houses of Ahmedabad, India

Neeta Rajesh Lambe and Alpana R Dongre

Environment and Planning B, 2019, vol. 46, issue 5, 845-861

Abstract: In architecture, context refers to the surrounding area or setting in which the building is placed. In architectural theory and practice, context plays an important role in proposing architectural vocabulary. Since the mid-20th-century, creating harmony with traditional context amidst growing development has been a major concern and interest of designers. Contextualism theory in architecture refers to the relationship between new buildings and the existing surroundings while addressing the issue of fitting new to old structures together to achieve congruence and continuity. The analysis of traditional architectural style significantly influences a designer’s decision-making process when adopting contextual design approach. In this study, a shape grammar approach is proposed to create a harmonious environment through the generation of new designs based on the grammar of existing architectural style without curbing the designer’s creativity. This paper demonstrates the pattern-generating quality of traditional Pol row houses of Ahmedabad, India. The grammar of the traditional Pol house forms the architectural context for the new in-fill development in the area. The shape grammar approach to architectural design is examined as a process of interpreting the context as socio-cultural experience through rule schema when addressing the issue of contemporary demands and needs. Here, shape grammar is explored as a tool to analyse the existing design through the generation of new designs. The grammar differs from the previous work in terms of the derivation method and identification of the clues for rule schema in the Indian context. This method has been examined in the process of resolving the issue of unsympathetic development by providing design variations within the grammar for in-fill development to derive spatial clues for generation of new designs, which would be argued as the first step towards achieving aesthetic congruence.

Keywords: Contextual design approach; built environment; shape grammar; traditional architecture; generative design; architectural style; spatial analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirb:v:46:y:2019:i:5:p:845-861

DOI: 10.1177/2399808317734207

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