Survey-Based Simulation of User Satisfaction for Generative Design in Architecture

AbstractThis paper describes a novel humanist approach to generative design through the measurement and simulation of user satisfaction in an office environment. This technique involves surveying hundreds of employees for their adjacency preference and work style preference, and then calculating how well different floor plan layouts match these preferences. This approach offers an example of how design goals which are typically considered to be “qualitative”— and beyond measurement—might become part of a “quantitative” generative design workflow for architectural design and space planning. The methodology is demonstrated through an application in the design of a 49,000 square foot office space for 270 people.