[HN Gopher] Free-form floor plan design using differentiable Vor...
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       Free-form floor plan design using differentiable Voronoi diagram
        
       Author : alex_hirner
       Score  : 123 points
       Date   : 2024-09-23 16:06 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (github.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
        
       | digilypse wrote:
       | Really cool. Could see this being used for generative video game
       | assets
        
         | codetrotter wrote:
         | An FPS Death Match map, but every time a new match is started,
         | the layouts of the rooms change somewhat. And maybe even like
         | another commenter talked about, buildings themselves could be
         | positioned using this technique too, so even the layout of the
         | buildings and the roads change a bit every new match.
         | 
         | It'll be familiar, but at the same time unfamiliar, every time
         | a new match starts. Some strategies will be useful across
         | matches, some strategies will not.
        
       | szvsw wrote:
       | Very cool!
       | 
       | Extremely related to this, which focuses more on integrating
       | architectural design constraints:
       | 
       | http://www.rewdesign.ch/automated-floorplan-generation-in-ar...
       | 
       | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380319243_A_hypergr...
       | 
       | https://github.com/ramonweber/hypergraph
        
       | redandblack wrote:
       | This will be great for deciding on voting districts
        
       | foota wrote:
       | This is fascinating to me because I once tried to take a
       | (vaguely) similar approach to generate a procedural city layout,
       | taking a voronoi diagram, and then doing some modified flood
       | fills to create buildings within the city while leavings streets.
       | 
       | It feels to me like their approach could be used for this as
       | well, since there's of course nothing that requires it to only be
       | used for generating floor plans.
        
       | hansvm wrote:
       | The general strategy of creating a differentiable representation
       | of a problem and simply describing the constraints is pretty
       | powerful. See also databases (allowing arbitrary knowledge
       | storage to be a tightly integrated part of a larger ML problem),
       | graph layouts (you can do _way_ better than something like
       | graphviz if you add arbitrary differentiable characteristics as
       | constraints in generation -- mixing and matching between the
       | better parts of normal layout routines using your human intuition
       | to say what's important about this graph in particular), ....
        
         | sleepydog wrote:
         | Do you know of a good introduction to this topic?
        
           | myhf wrote:
           | Differentiable Programming from Scratch
           | 
           | https://thenumb.at/Autodiff/
        
       | javier123454321 wrote:
       | Geez, as architecture these plans are absolutely horrible and
       | produce unusable spaces. As an abstract math problem, it seems
       | marginally useful, but I would not want to live in a place laid
       | out by this algorithm.
        
       | pimlottc wrote:
       | I'm no architect, but surely the precise details of the exterior
       | walls are decided based on the floor plan, not the other way
       | around? Seems odd to assume the walls are fixed before the floor
       | plan has been determined.
       | 
       | Of course, the shape of the lot and other physical factors put
       | general limitations on the bounds of the house, but filling the
       | entire lot isn't usually the primary goal.
       | 
       | Maybe it's more useful for a renovation?
        
         | freeone3000 wrote:
         | I'm not sure why you'd assume that rather than the inverse. The
         | house is set to fit a certain number of square feet based on
         | economic concerns (heating and cooling costs primarily), then
         | the ordinances on setback and separation come into play, then
         | the very clear rectangle that results is your starting point
         | for interior planning.
        
           | contingencies wrote:
           | Both are used. Hence, any good design should explicitly state
           | what the goals are (ie. what we are optimizing for) before
           | embarking on the design process.
           | 
           | Commercial real estate generally optimizes for profit, which
           | means, floor space, however this may be subject to regulation
           | and particularly significant cost constraints (eg. maximum
           | height before alternate structural features required, maximum
           | height of available raw materials, HVAC/insulation, site
           | aspect, site topography).
           | 
           | High end residential real estate is perhaps the most
           | interesting, because good residential architecture
           | facilitates aesthetic concern and draws from the full palette
           | of commercial architecture in addition to traditional methods
           | while not being constrained by finance. Hence, very
           | interesting results can sometimes be obtained from good
           | architects who will consider factors such as foliage, natural
           | audio, etc. which are often ~ignored or afterthoughts in
           | commercial/industrial.
           | 
           | IMHO good and original design in adequately resourced
           | contexts tends to be iterative and to consider all paths
           | toward a solution, not only a preconceived approach and a
           | waterfall solution.
        
         | jkaptur wrote:
         | Strong https://xkcd.com/793/ vibes here, though it's a cool way
         | to approach this model of a problem.
        
         | rhcom2 wrote:
         | In my experience in the arch industry this type of space
         | planning is more used in large buildings with a lot of
         | different spaces (think college buildings). Usually the
         | building is already built but being "renovated". A residential
         | house doesn't really have the need for this type of algorithmic
         | design for < 10 rooms.
        
       | geon wrote:
       | What do the cells represent, and why are they more dense in some
       | spots?
        
       | IshKebab wrote:
       | Uhm shouldn't the rooms be rectangular? You don't see many
       | polygonal rooms for obvious reasons...
        
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       (page generated 2024-09-23 23:00 UTC)