Generative design in architecture using an expert system

The mathematician-architect Christopher Alexander has devised a theory of objective architectural design. He believes that all architectural forms can be described as interacting patterns, all possible relationships of which are governed by generative rules. These form a pattern language' capable of generating forms appropriate for a given environmental context. The complexity of interaction among these rules leads to difficulties in their representation by conventional methods. Here, a Prolog-based expert system is presented which implements Alexander's design methodology to produce perspective views of partially and fully differentiated 3-dimensional architectural forms.