Research on the intelligent generation of the spatial form of the island city historic district Based on parameterization: taking Macau Taipa Village as an example

ABSTRACT

In this paper, Macau Taipa Village, a historical district in an island-type city, is the research focus, and a parametric design-based method for designing historical districts is proposed. First, the shape and distribution of roads in historical districts is studied through on-the-spot investigation and measurement and data are collected on the width, depth, and area of street blocks, average street length and width, street orientation, building width, depth, acreage, and height, and building orientation. Second, the acquired data are transmitted to the Grasshopper parameterization platform, and an intelligently generated program produces calculations. Through multiple iterations and evaluations of genetic algorithms based on the needs of modern urban design and planning constraints, the building density is further reduced, and more landscape areas are added. The parametric model is optimized to gradually generate the urban spatial design that meets contemporary requirements. The research reveals that (1) the grasshopper algorithm’s generated block design inherits the characteristics of the conventional historical block. (2) The historical block where the data were collected on site and the block where Grasshopper is applied should maintain the consistency of the regional context. (3) This method can be applied to the design of new urban areas, and the scope of application can be further adjusted through collaboration and the needs of the owners at a later stage.

KEYWORDS:

• Island city
• historic district
• design method
• genetic algorithm
• Macau

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Conceptualization, Y.C.; methodology, L.Z. and L.Y.; software, L.Z. and L.Y.; validation, L.Z. and L.Y.; formal analysis, Y.C. and L.Z.; investigation, Y.C. and L.Z.; resources, Y.C.; data curation, Y.C.; writ-ing – original draft preparation, Y.C. and L.Z.; writing – review and editing, Y.C. and L.Z.; visual-ization, L.Z.; supervision, Y.C. and L.Z.; project administration, Y.C. and L.Z.; funding acquisition, Y.C. and L.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Informed consent statement

Not applicable for studies not involving humans.

Institutional review board statement

Not applicable for studies not involving humans or animals.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by CITT(Guangzhou) Enterprise Key Funding Project “Information System Engineering and Construction Engineering Testing”[grant number GZWX-23-007].

Notes on contributors

Yile Chen

Yile Chen is a PhD candidate in architecture at the Faculty of Humanities and Arts, Macau University of Science and Technology. Her research interests are urban design and renewal.

Liang Zheng

Liang Zheng is a PhD candidate in architecture at the Faculty of Humanities and Arts, Macau University of Science and Technology. His research interests include sustainable architectural design.

Lina Yan

Lina Yan is a PhD candidate in architecture at the Faculty of Humanities and Arts, Macau University of Science and Technology. Her research interests are urban design and renewal.