Combining space syntax and shape grammar to investigate architectural style: considering Glenn Murcutt's domestic designs

The syntax and grammar of a design are, respectively, reflections of its socio-spatial and formal properties. Combined approaches to syntax and grammar potentially offer new ways of understanding a particular architectural style, as well as allowing for the production or assessment of variations of that style. Despite this potential, the combined generative and analytical capability of the two computational theories which are used to investigate these ideas – Space Syntax and Shape Grammar – are not well understood. This paper presents a new framework for selectively merging aspects of these two approaches into a single technique for investigating the properties of an architectural style. To support the framework, this paper develops a Justified Plan Graph grammar and then examines the grammar using both rule-based and syntax-based approaches. This new framework and associated technique is demonstrated using four designs by architect Glenn Murcutt. The findings of this paper suggest that the new combined framework facilitates the exploration of the patterns and inequality genotypes of Murcutt’s houses. The paper concludes with a discussion of the way the JPG grammar could be used to examine both architectural design solutions as well as to investigate generative design processes. Through this research the study contributes to the growing interest in combining Space Syntax and Shape Grammar approaches.