T. C.

BAHÇEŞEHİR UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES

ARC5407 – New Technologies and Digital Approaches in Architecture

Project 3- Article discussion paper

UNDERSTANDING GENETIC ALGORITHMS IN

ARCHITECTURE

Student: MARIAM KOUZAYHA- 2105734

Instructor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Belinda Torus

İSTANBUL, DECEMBER 2021

Genetic Algorithm
A search heuristic based on Charles Darwin's natural selection idea is known as a genetic
algorithm. This algorithm is modeled after natural selection, in which the fittest individuals are
selected for reproduction to produce the children of the next generation (Abbas Kia, 1391).
Genetic algorithm can be used to generate solutions to a problem in which there is no way we
can calculate the solution. They are part of a bigger group algorithm called evolutionary
algorithm which used natural selection to a proximate solution for a given problem (Alireza,
2006). Used to generate the form of an antenna as done by NASA in 2006, called evolved
antenna, genetic algorithm used to find the best radiation pattern (Lohn, Kraus, Linden, 2006)

Figure 1: Figure 1: Evolutionary Antenna by NASA, 2006

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/images/content/75301main_st5-104-08.jpg

Genetic algorithm uses a generation of possible solutions, each specimen has a binary encoding
of content (1, 0). The set of all current solutions at a certain point during the algorithm is called
the generation (Mitchel, 1996). Then starts the process of natural selection, using a fitness
function to determine how good a given solution is. After that starts the selection of the parents
for the next generation of solutions, generally a solution with a higher fitness score is more likely
to be selected for reproduction than the ones with lower fitness (Mitchel, 1996). Two parents are
chosen and then their code is cut at a random spot in half and switched their ending. This is
called the single-point crossover function that generates two new solutions for the next
generations. Sometimes there is no way to verify the best solutions during the cross-over, this is
where elitism comes in. Elitism is simply copying the top solutions right into the next generation
(Mitchel, 1996). Mutation helps to discover new solutions that otherwise are impossible to find
by changing a random bit with a certain probability (Mitchel, 1996).
Despite that there is a different way of implementing genetic algorithm, they all share the list of
following ingredients:
 Genetic representation of a solution
 A function to generate new solutions
 Fitness function to evaluate solutions
  Select function
 Crossover function
 Mutation function
Some problems have solutions that can’t be expressed with ones and zeros but need an area of
other values. Some use graphs to express their solutions, and some a single crossover is not
enough and requires multiple crossovers, even with maybe different parents that may increase
the quality of generated solutions (Darrell, 1994).
Understanding the main concept of genetic algorithm and its process helps identify certain areas
of applications, in which architectural applications come in.
Algorithmic design
Also known as procedural generation, is mathematical progress to solve a geometrical problem,
with the main example from the architecture of Zaha Hadid such as Heydar Aliyev cultural
center Baku. Zaha made lots of algorithmic designs based on her studies in mathematics
(Amatalraof, 2013). Take video games as an example, such as Fortnite and Minecraft, where the
game requires islands and world generations based on a set of rules (Gartenberg, 2020).

By tackling
optimization
and search
issues using
a population
of
alternative
answers, Figure 3: Minecraft World Generation Figure 2: Fortnite Map Generation
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zzm6oHZ4_bc/maxresdefault.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zzm6oHZ4_bc/
genetic
maxresdefault.jpg
algorithms provide an effective solution to this challenge, which may be used in two ways in
architecture: as optimization tools and as form-generation tools (Slowik, Kwasnicka, 2020).
Combinatorial design
An important type of algorithmic design, where the key goal is the ability to generate a rich
variety of design options from a finite set of parts (Nijenhuis, Wilf., 1978). Thinking of it as part
of Lego blocks, where millions of creations can be made with them. Furthermore, the shapes of
the parts express the rules for how we can combine them, and the computational aspect comes
when instead of placing part by part manually, methods are developed that gives a set of parts to
generate design options (Nijenhuis, Wilf., 1978).
 Figure 4: Lego; Patent 3,005,282, 1961; "Toy Building Brick" by G. K. Christiansen
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/23/5f/e2/235fe2661fedcd0fa493d84fcfbb0671.jpg

Figure 5: distributed robotic assembly system for in situ timber construction, 2018
https://www.icd.uni-stuttgart.de/img/wp-content/gallery/itech_msc_2018_dist_timber/MSc_Dist_Timn-10.jpg?
__scale=w:1000,h:1000,q:100,t:3
Generative models
This type helps find the best design by generating thousands of design options and ranking them
on criteria set manually by the designer. Due to many parameters that matter in architecture such
as cost, usable area, regulation compliance, structural performance. It can be very time-
consuming for architects to explore all options to offer an optimal solution to their clients. Now
with generative models, the promises that architectural practices can offer good designs by
finding optimal solutions computationally (Ednie-Brown, Pia, Andrasek, 2006).

Figure 6: space planning with project refinery, by jacob small, 2019

https://miro.medium.com/max/3000/0*W3_hhXTqrI9u7i7N.png

Evolutionary optimization
Using the principles of evolution to generate a population of the population of design options.
The rules that define the looks and performance of the design are called genotypes. The genes of
the best individuals in a population get muted and recombined to form the next population
(Darrell, 1994). Most optimization jobs include three primary components. The first is the
objective function we want to lower or maximize, the second is the identification of a set of
design variables that impact the objective function's value, and the third is the identification of a
set of constraints that allow the design variables to have values (Caldas, Norford, 2007).

Figure 7: Generations for Phoenix project

http://cumincad.scix.net/sci-bin/works/Show?b5d2
References
Abbas Kia, M., 1391, the meta-heuristic search algorithms, Tehran: IR PDF.
Alireza, M., 2007, An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms and Applications, Tehran: Publishing
Co., Bell though.
Amatalraof A., 2013. Zaha Hadid Form Making Strategies for Design. Research Gate.
Caldas, L., Norford, L., 2007. A genetic Algorithm Tool for Design Optimization, Media and
Design Process. Salt Lake City, pp. 260-271.
Darrell, W. (1994). A genetic algorithm tutorial. Statistics and Computing. 4 (2): 65–85.
Ednie-Brown, Pia, Andrasek, A., 2006. “CONTINUUM: A Self-Engineering Creature-Culture.”
Architectural Design 76, (5). pp. 58–63
Gartenberg, C., 2020. How The Mandalorian teamed up with Fortnite creator Epic Games to
create its digital sets. The Verge.
Lohn, J. D., Kraus, W. F., and Linden, D. S., 2004. Evolutionary Optimization of a Quadrifilar
Helical Antenna, IEEE Antenna & Propagation Society Mtg. 3, pp. 814–817.
Mitchel, M., 1996, An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms, Massachusetts: MIT Press,
Cambridge.
Nijenhuis, A., Wilf., H., 1978. Combinatorial Algorithms for Computers and Calculators.
Academic Press, Orlando FL, 2.
Slowik, A., Kwasnicka, H., 2020. Evolutionary algorithms and their applications to engineering
problems. Neural Comput & Applic 32, pp. 12363–12379.