https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dx5KQb-4ViqgK-eWvoEyxzqSHc3e4aZd/view?usp=sharing
Affordable Housing Participatory Design Tool
This tool aids non-profit organizations that specialize in building affordable housing in their participatory design processes. Inputting the needs/wants of participants into this tool can generate a very preliminary layout of their home that can be passed to engineers and architects for more detailed work. While the original scope of this project was more expansive here are the variables that are considered by this tool are :
-Number of Bedrooms
-Ceiling Height
-Roof Type (Flat or Pointed)
-Wall Material
Users simply enter these parameters utilizing the sliders, and code blocks provided and are returned a preliminary design that fits the constraints. All of the layout options are under 500 square feet to ensure that the house remains affordable. The possible floor layouts that the tool can generate based on the number of bedrooms required are depicted as follows:
Each layout optimizes space differently depending on the priorities of the participant. Furthermore, the tool is capable of generating a flat surface or pointed surface to represent the roof that the participant desires. Flat roofs are often requested as they allow for residents to build up in the future. This being said, pointed roofs are also common for their more traditional look.
How Does it Work?
For users who might be interested in customizing the tool, here is a brief overview of how it works.
First, inputs may be defined:
Curves are then created that determine the 3 possible layouts:
All of these lines are organized into one single node that contains all 3 options:
Next, based on the input provided of 1 Bedroom, 2 Bedrooms, or 3 Bedrooms, a certain set of these lines are used to create the walls of the desired layout:
Next, the curves that define the roof options are created:
Finally the relevant curves are selected based on the user input, and a surface is generated that represents the desired roof shape:
Limitations: Given more time I would improve this tool by accounting for doorways, and windows. I would also have the surface that defines the roof be converted into a Revit element.
For a video please use the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dx5KQb-4ViqgK-eWvoEyxzqSHc3e4aZd/view?usp=sharing