Computational design / comp·u·ta·tion·al de·sign / noun
Explicit rules that systematically model the behavior of a proposed design and the resulting data and geometry. Little project data is kept as static objects, instead the procedure to create them is saved. Project geometry and data are generated from the execution of mathematical and logical procedures.
Generative design / gen·er·a·tive de·sign / noun
A system that produces design studies (alternatives), evaluates them against quantifiable goals, improves studies by learning from previous, and ranks results based on their distance from the goals. The project is kept as a system, with affordances to choose one or a small subset of alternatives as a final set of project data and geometry.
Generate / gen·er·ate / verb
To produce or create a design. Requires 1 or more input parameters which are combined in an algorithm to produce a design study. The resulting model or data is not necessarily a viable design.
Goal / goal / noun
A quantifiable target value or range for a project or feature of a project.
Evaluate / e·val·u·ate / verb
To judge the quality of something based on how well it performs in one or more objective functions.
Evolve / e·vol·ve / verb
To gradually make something better over generations.
Explore / ex·plore / verb
Different ways to interpret results and rankings.
Solver / solv·er / nounthanks
An algorithm specifically designed to find the solution to a precisely defined problem.
Seed / seed / noun
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Genetic / ge·net·ic / noun
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Algorithm / al·go·rithm / noun
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Iterative / it·er·a·tive / verb
Doing something repeatedly, often to make it better.
Multi-objective / mul·ti ob·ject·ive / adjective
Using two or more objectives when optimising a solution.
Optioneering / op·tion·eer·ing / verb
Describe a goal, define constraints and make the computer generate all possible solutions.
Optimisation / op·ti·mi·sa·tion / verb
Maximising or minimising some mathematical function to arrive at the best possible solution to a problem.
Permutation / per·mu·ta·tion / verb
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Cross-product / cross pro·duct / verb
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Local optimum / lo·cal op·ti·mum / verb
The best solution within a neighbourhood of solutions that are slightly different, but still worse than the global optimum.
Global optimum / glo·bal op·ti·mum / verb
The most optimal solution out of all the possible solutions.