AESOP: an architectural relational database

Abstract

This paper describes the principles and implementation of AESOP, an architectural relational database which aims to integrate building design procedures and to provide good graphic manipulation facilities. It is also intended to be highly flexible in that it allows inexact as well as exact data, can support a variety of user views of data and modes of use, and can accommodate itself to new techniques as these become available. AESOP uses ‘fuzzy’ logic. It holds information in the form of components which are linked lists of records, or relations, which are linked lists of tuples containing pointers to records, or, more generally, as directed graphs with records at the boundaries. New relations can be defined interactively from old using set theoretic operations thus enabling the logical operations of the first order predicate calculus to be performed on relations. The database also holds internal procedures called maps. Maps may be used to transform data as required by the user or to test the properties of a design proposal. New maps can be defined interactively from existing maps by applying composition, recursion or the logical operations of the first order calculus. An example of the use of the principles of fuzzy logic for guiding the selection of building fabriċ is given. Some tests of AESOP in practice on live problems are noted. It is concluded that AESOP could provide a useful framework for a CAAD system and that further work is required in two areas, the user interface, and operations involving geometrical relations.