An Expert System for Conceptual Design of Buildings

"In the conceptual design stage of a building the number of possible configurations is enormous. Configurations selected in this stage affect the building cost much more thatn any decision made in subsequent design stages. Currently there is no analytic method for selecting the best solution, and designers base their decisions mostly on experience and intuition. This process is not algorithmic and therefore the best possible design is not guaranteed. In this paper the process by which a human expert arrives at a conceptual design is briefly analysed and an automated knowledge-based expert system to aid in the conceptual design stage will be explained. "