During the last six years the authors have been working in the Centre for Configurational Studies on a series of research projects whose overall aim is to increase knowledge of the composition and morphology of the English building stock. Earlier work was devoted to domestic buildings -- houses...

A project developed at the GAMSAU laboratory, Marseille-Luminy School of Architecture, aimed at the creation of a prototype system for urban simulation using artificial intelligence and computer graphics techniques is described. The project is developed in Smalltalk-80. The prototype presented...

Despite the long history of the multi-Weber problem and the generalised multi-Weber problem, there is no general optimal method for its solution. This paper has two aims. The first aim is a study of the shape of the objective function of the single and multi-Weber problem. The form of the...

The authors describe the application of computer techniques in a special example of technical management of the architectural and urban fabric. This relates to a restoration and rehabilitation programme being carried out in Marseille's old city quarters which will involve reconstruction of...

This is the first of two papers to report on an analysis of housing form, drawing on a computerised database of a sample of British house plans. The breakdown of functions within the home and the principal physical dimensions of the plan, as derived from the computer analysis, are summarised....

New settlement projects which provide housing can be considered as housing development systems. In such projects, there can be large variation in costs and quantitative design efficiency indicators. Therefore, quantitative analysis and optimisation techniques are required to achieve...

This is the third in a series of three papers in which the methodological status of <i>Q</i>-analysis is investigated. The methodological rules abstracted in the previous papers are brought together, and the possibility of them being built into an expert system is discussed. A preliminary specification...

In this paper an attempt is made to demonstrate how conventional regional science methods can be adapted for use in business, commerce, and public-sector planning. It is argued that the route to achieving this goal rests, not in developing new methods, but, rather, in gaining a better...