Surveying Design Spaces with Performance Maps - A Multivariate Visualization Method for Parametric Design and Architectural Design Optimization

Abstract

This paper presents a novel method to visualize high dimensional parametric design spaces with applications in computational design space exploration. Specifically, the visualization method presented here supports the understanding of design problems in architectural design optimization by allowing designers to move between a high dimensional design space and a low dimensional "performance map". This performance map displays the characteristics of the fitness landscape, develops designers' intuitions about the relationships between design parameters and performance, allows designers to examine promising design variants and delineates promising areas for further design exploration.