Form-Function Synthesis in Engineering Design

In this paper, we present an overview of research on form/function synthesis for physical artifacts. This paper summarizes a lengthier technical report that characterizes the computational models underlying selected Engineering Design Research Center (EDRC) projects (Flemming et al., 1992a). This paper reviews how this problem is perceived in selected engineering disciplines, including architectural design, and classifies these models by their strategies and attempts to link these strategies to appropriate types of design problems1 .