KOALA : developing a generative house design system with agent-based modelling of social and spatial processes

The paper presents the development of an agent-based approach to modelling the interaction of human emotion and behaviour with built spaces. The study addresses how human behaviour and social relation can be represented and modelled to interact with a virtual built environment composed in parametric architectural geometry. KOALA, a prototype of agent-based modelling of social spatial dynamics at the core of a parametric architectural design environment is proposed. In building KOALA's system architecture, we adapted the PECS (Physical, Emotional, Cognitive, Social) reference model of human behaviour (Schmidt 2002) and introduced the concept of Social Spatial Comfort as a measurement of three key factors influencing human spatial experiences. KOALA was evaluated by a comparative modelling of two contrasting Vietnamese dwellings known to us. As expected, KOALA returns very different temporal characteristics of spatial modifications of the two dwellings over a simulated timeframe of one year. We discuss the lessons learned and further research required.