A knowledge-based system for house layout selection

Automatic reasoning is applied to building design problems with a large number of standardized conditions, such as normal housing. Industrialized home building can provide quick-to-build low-cost dwellings, but these buildings often are not as appropriate for the local climate, building site or to the occupant needs as tailor-made homes. In this article we present a knowledge-based system (KBS) that combines advantages from both methods. It considers the data corresponding to the building site (dimensions, local building codes,...), the climate and the purchaser (budget, family size,...) and recommends a particular design. (C) 2004 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.