ARC 4303A
Aspects of Asian architecture
Fall 2003–04

5, The Yingzao fashi, shape grammar, and extant buildings

Assignment 3 returned

• Rules for content, for control.

• When deleting a rule, you could delete the single content rule. This would give you a language of one design, namely the initial design.

• Distinguish:

  • A design,

  • A language defined by a grammar (or
    a language of designs created by a grammar), and

  • A grammar.

  The excerpt below confuses all three.

  By adding one rule, B contained 3+1 rules and A contained 3 rules. A became the subset of B. If B is illegal, A will also be illegal.

Assignment 4 in

• Updates.

• Explain your thinking (question 5).

• Fung Chi Ho, Jimmy (PDF, 324 KB)
• Fung Chi Keung (PDF, 52 KB)
• Kiang Ngai Sze, Karen (PDF, 280 KB)
• Leung Chung Hoo, Dennis (PDF, 1.1 MB)
• Lou Kai Chio, Tommy
• Lucas, Géraldine
• So Ching Han, Emily (PDF, 648 KB)
• Sun Huan (PDF, 80 KB)
• Tang Lei, Bob
• Tang Shing Yan, Otto (PDF, 228 KB)
• Wong Chung Yee, Joyce (PDF, 340 KB)
• Wong Yuen Wai, Iris (PDF, 480 KB)
• Yu Wai Ching
• Zheng Yihang (new version, PDF, 232 KB)

Generic paper topics

• Just some types of papers you could do. You still have to decide on a specific question to work on.

• Don’t forget that a design is a drawing(s) and a description(s). It doesn’t necessarily mean a whole building.

1. Implement an interactive generative definition of a language of designs, using software such as Flash or Autocad (with Autolisp).

2. Define a language of designs that includes all extant designs from the Song through the Yuan. Begin with the Yingzao fashi grammar (Li 2001), and assume that the 40-odd extant buildings given in Chen (1992) form a corpus of stylistically designs. Use the same method as in assignment 4 to adjust the grammar so that it generates all and only the stylistically correct designs.

3. Examine one extant building. Compare and contrast with the Yingzao fashi, using shape grammar.

4. Define a language of a single component….

Sources

Not a comprehensive list!

• For the Yingzao fashi, Liang (1983), Chen (1993), Xu and Guo (1984).

• For collected information about extant buildings, Chen (1992).

• For individual field reports, Steinhardt (1997).

Assignment 5 out

• Explain your thinking in assignment 4 (question 5).

• Choose a paper topic. Examine the sources, decide what to do specifically. Write a draft of an introduction (context, problem, response).

List of references