Heather Ligler
Florida Atlantic University, Architecture, Faculty Member
- Auburn University, Architecture, AlumnusGeorgia Institute of Technology, Architecture, AlumnusThe Pennsylvania State University, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Faculty Memberadd
- Design Computation (Architecture), Style, Shape Grammars, Shape Grammar (Architecture), Design Theory (Architecture), Computer Aided Architectural Design, and 39 moreGenerative Architectural Design, Design Methodology (Architecture), Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence in Architectural Design, Architecture, Architectural History, Architectural Theory, Parametric Design (Architecture), Digital Theory and Culture, Automation, Digital Design and Fabrication, Modular Housing, Augmented Reality, Generative design, Tectonics, Mereology, Modular Systems (Architecture), Computational Design, Aesthetics, Rudolf Wittkower, Brunelleschi, Robert Venturi, Role of History In Postmodernn Architectural Philosophy, Postmodernism, Colin Rowe, Computer Aided Design, Architectural Computing, Transcendental Philosophy, Pythagoras, Computer Science Education, Pedagogy, Computer Programming, Digital design, Architectural Education, Computer aided creativity, Parametric Design, Architectural Languages, History of Mathematics, and Philosophy Of Mathematicsedit
- Heather Ligler is an architect, design researcher, and faculty of the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic Univ... moreHeather Ligler is an architect, design researcher, and faculty of the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University, where she is a tenure-track Assistant Professor and Foundations Coordinator. Dr. Ligler’s teaching and research are in the areas of shape grammars, rule-based design, and design history/theory. Her research interests focus on computation as a medium to animate and rewrite design narratives as well as how rule-based approaches and emergent technologies can help us imagine the future of architecture.
Her current scholarship considers how rule-based design and related digital media provide a novel landscape for speculation on the future of architectural practice, history, and theory. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the General Services Administration, the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, the Penn State Materials Research Institute, the President’s Fellowship at Georgia Tech, and the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences Fellowship. Heather received her Ph.D. and M.S. in Design Computation from the School of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology and her dual Bachelor of Architecture / Bachelor of Interior Architecture degrees from Auburn University.
Heather is a registered architect in the State of Georgia. She has been invited to present her work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California Berkeley, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, National Chiao Tung University, and National Taiwan Institute of Technology. Her academic background includes research at the Shape Computation Lab, where she contributed to the development of the Shape Machine software and the CourtsWeb visual database; teaching at Georgia Tech, where she was a studio critic in the School of Architecture and lecturer in the Architectonics in Greece + Italy Program, and teaching/research at Penn State, where she was core faculty of the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing. Heather’s professional experience is likewise foundational to her research and teaching - her practice includes the design of domestic and international projects, primarily with John Portman & Associates.edit
The symmetry properties of John Portman’s 1968 Midnight Sun cocktail bar are discussed in detail. A special emphasis is given to subsymmetry analysis to decompose the multiple layers of symmetry groups in the polyrhythmic design and to... more
The symmetry properties of John Portman’s 1968 Midnight Sun cocktail bar are discussed in detail. A special emphasis is given to subsymmetry analysis to decompose the multiple layers of symmetry groups in the polyrhythmic design and to relate them to a foundational project in Portman’s corpus, the 1964 house Entelechy I. This analysis informs a rule-based interpretation of the cocktail bar as a transformation of the hollow column prototype developed in Entelechy I. These findings are specified formally in the Midnight Sun grammar, a shape grammar implemented in a shape rewrite technology called Shape Machine. The implementation is then used to produce a series of variations featuring a range of symmetry groups. These outcomes and their implications for design generation as well as insights into Portman’s design principles are discussed to conclude the paper.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A brief survey of the expressive power of Shape Machine, a new shape grammar interpreter, is presented. The work is presented in two parts: A brief presentation of a series of shape computations that have been routinely used as benchmarks... more
A brief survey of the expressive power of Shape Machine, a new shape grammar interpreter, is presented. The work is presented in two parts: A brief presentation of a series of shape computations that have been routinely used as benchmarks for the design tasks a shape grammar interpreter should be able to accomplish; and a brief exploration of design applications in various domains, namely, product modeling, mechanical and architectural design to suggest possibilities for new design workflows and/or new trajectories in new domains too. Some speculations on the future of the technology pertaining to its potential usage in a new paradigm of programming with shapes (programming by drawing) and/or the envision of a new paradigm of a physical computer are presented in the end.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Architecture, Shape Grammar (Architecture), Design Computation (Architecture), Computer Aided Design, Modeling and Simulation, and 10 moreArchitectural Theory, Generative Architectural Design, Computer Aided Architectural Design, Shape Grammars, Design Computation, Generative Design Research, Design Automation, Generative/Computational Design, Shape Machine, and Rule-based Design
Two formal exercises in hotel composition are presented. In both, the hospitality work of the architect John Portman is the focus. His language of hollow forms is addressed following his unique claim on the organizing principles found in... more
Two formal exercises in hotel composition are presented. In both, the hospitality work of the architect John Portman is the focus. His language of hollow forms is addressed following his unique claim on the organizing principles found in his 1964 house, Entelechy I. The first exercise outlines a generative specification for his atrium hotel language in a parametric shape grammar informed by the logic of the house that generates an atrium hotel prototype. The second exercise speculates with a sketch on how transformation grammars can yield various configurations to explore Portman’s atrium hotel language for a series of initial shapes. The overall goal of the research is to progress an ongoing effort to build a constructive theory on Portman’s architectural language as explored for a variety of scales and contexts.
Research Interests:
John Portman’s work attracts significant commentary, although the focus is typically on the commercial and social aspects of his work as opposed to the actual designs and their related architectural implications. The obvious place to... more
John Portman’s work attracts significant commentary, although the focus is typically on the commercial and social aspects of his work as opposed to the actual designs and their related architectural implications. The obvious place to start unpacking his contribution is in his widely recognized and published commercial portfolio, yet he maintains that his design principles are found in his personal domestic work. Here, his 1964 residence Entelechy I is analyzed to inform the development of a parametric shape grammar that generates the original design as well as a series of variations. The goal of this research is to engage Portman’s architectural philosophy and constructively assess his claims of its implicit relationship to his work to date. Key rules suggesting his principles and anticipating his ongoing architectural contribution are outlined. The structure provided by shape computation, involving both shape rules and rule schemas, is positioned as the theoretical basis for an ongoing study of transformations within Portman’s language.