Timber Joint Connections, Generative Design Method: A topological system approach

Timber joint connections have been applied as a primary building construction, using concave and convex shapes to connect two or more elements. This research investigated the possibility of using graph-based theory knowledge to analyse timber joint connections. A topological extraction system was developed using Topologic and Karamba3D in Grasshopper. A collection of timber joints was analysed, and the topological relationships, load distribution, and shared face of connections were extracted. The proposed system generates an early-stage knowledge graph integrated with external simulation results. Moreover, in this study, a rule-based generative design approach has also been explored in generating complex timber structures. In this paper, a topological extraction system with external software implementation was developed, and generative design was explored to maximise the potential of the timber frame structure.