Using procedural modelling as a framework for representing style: an example from Regency architecture

Abstract

This paper reports the use of shape grammars, as made available in CityEngine, to deconstruct six examples of Regency facades and uses them to form a reconstruction of Brunswick Square, in Brighton and Hove, UK. The aim of the research is to evaluate the potential for shape grammar rules to effectively encapsulate aspects of style in a formal, computational language. It is argued that such a system could both result in a stochastically based definition of Regency style with a measurable degree of certainty and enable the presentation of historical periods of history in a real-time virtual environment.