Data-driven placemaking: Public space canopy design through multi-objective optimisation considering shading, structural and social performance

In the context of ongoing densification of cities and aging urban populations, public spaces are a crucial infrastructure to support the physical and mental wellbeing of urban residents. The design of public space furniture elements is often standardised, and not considered in relation to environmental conditions and mechanisms of social interaction. This article presents a digital workflow to generate site-specific designs for shaded public seating, considering the relationships of local public places to their surroundings. A strategy for customised and site-specific design is developed through the use of multiple software tools, employing evolutionary algorithms and multi-objective optimisation. The method is applied to a small public space canopy prototype installed within a public housing estate in Hong Kong, incorporating additional criteria to achieve a low-cost and light-weight structure. Through multiple stages of refinement and optimisation, a material, structural and social performance-driven outcome was achieved that creates a shaded space for public seating, people watching and social interaction. As part of a larger research agenda exploring architectural form-finding and environmental psychology, the project represents potential new applications in the emerging field of socially driven computational design.