Shape Grammars

Shape perception has always been important in vision research, yet it is now attracting more interest than ever before, fueling the need for an interdisciplinary approach that bridges the fields of computer vision and human vision.

Visual calculating in shape grammars aligns with art and design, bridging the gap between seeing (Coleridge's “imagination”) and combinatoric play (Coleridge's “fancy”).

This volume describes research in computational design which implements shape grammars or space syntax for morphological analysis, applying these scientific and rule-based methodologies to cultural aspects of the field.

This issue is dedicated to various kinds of patterns in architecture. Buthayna Eilouti and Amer Al-Jokhadar address patterns in shape grammars in the ground plans of Mamluk madrasas, religious schools. Giulio Magli goes back further in history, to the age of Greek colonies in Italy before they were conquered by the Romans, to examine patterns in urban design. In Traditional Patterns in Pyrgi of Chios: