ECAADE2021
Paper 266
Integrating Sociological Survey and Algorithmic
Modelling for Low-Cost Housing
Igor Lacroix1
, Gonçalo Furtado Lopes2
, José Pedro Sousa3
1,2,3Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto + DFL/CEAU/FAUP
1,2,3{ilacroix|glopes|jsousa}@arq.up.pt
ABSTRACT
This paper presents a study developed in the scope of an ongoing research about
the creation of an architectural design system of low-cost housing in Portugal's
context. Its goal is to present the survey, analysis and digitization work of a
research carried out in the 1960s by Portuguese architect Nuno Portas, with the
help of architect Alexandre Alves Costa. The method was to convert
mathematical information contained in Portas` and Alves Costa's report from
Lisbon's National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC) into an algorithmic
model with Rhinoceros® and Grasshopper® software. Besides revealing for the
first time a comprehensive study of this pioneering work, this paper will set the
foundations to propose the adaptation of its process into low-cost housing design.
The result presented here is an algorithm for selecting the best architectural type
from a database of housing floor plans, analyzed by a questionnaire regarding the
inhabitants' needs and satisfactions.