SmartVolumes - Adaptive Voronoi Power Diagramming for Real-Time Volumetric Design Exploration
Christian Friedrich

Voronoi Diagrams and Delaunay Triangulations are two concepts fundamental to computational geometry, which have been applied in the most varied disciplines. In recent years, they are increasingly used in architectural design. In this paper, a novel method for volumetric design exploration based on three-dimensional (additively weighted) Voronoi power diagrams is described. The method combines fast calculation of three-dimensional weighted Voronoi Power Diagrams with a volume-dependent feedback loop, resulting in a real-time interactive modeling tool. This tool, named SmartVolumes, has been integrated into the modeling environment BehaviourLinks, where the interaction between parametric volumes and other entities can be further elaborated through behavioral linkages. Applications of SmartVolumes in urban design and architectural design are described, implications of the use of Voronoi diagrams for architectural modeling and environments are discussed and directions of consecutive developments are indicated.