A Procedural Modeling Survey based on Masonry Buildings

Jos Luis Fita

Gustavo Patow

Gonzalo Besuievsky

University of Girona

on grammar models that allow him recreating ancient

buildings with a notorious detail.

Abstract
We introduce a survey focused on those papers whose
their main topics are based on procedural modeling methods
for masonry structures, especially for the historical buildings
such as churches and cathedrals. Furthermore, we have taken
a geometrical structure from one of these papers and studied
their geometrical structure behavior under simulation.
Keywords procedural modeling, historical buildings,
masonry structures, stable structures.
1.

INTRODUCTION

At first, one of the geometric modeling techniques that

are used by designers when they would like recreating an
historical building is the constructive solid geometry that
combines quadric surfaces and Boolean operations; this
kind of technique has the disadvantage that generates heavy
files when a building is designed.

Figure2. Procedural modeling rules

On the other hand, a new paradigm for procedural
modeling techniques have grown in recent years, where
researchers have found a new way to explore new
methodologies that combining visual results with structural
stability, especially on masonry structures.
This is the reason that we have focused our research for
the survey on this kind of methodologies with the aim of
learns how these works on virtual environment. Also, we have
taken the most suitable results of one of these for our future
work and realized a static analysis on it with a physical
simulator.

Contribution
Figure1. A church modeled through solid modeling

For this reason among others, step by step a new

geometric modeling technique has been growing along these
last years, we are referring to the procedural modeling
technique. This describes 3D models algorithmically through a
set of rules.
Although procedural modeling is used for the recreation
of not well defined geometry objects such as mountains,
clouds, plants, fire, clothes and more through fractals and
particles methods. The designers can use a methodology based

We describe a survey with the most suitable

techniques for our research about procedural
modeling based on the structural stability studies,
masonry structures and ancient buildings. Especially
Romanesque and Gothic churches or cathedrals.

We test the geometrical structure statics extracted

from Panozzo et al [2013] on a physical simulator
without glue.

We test the geometrical structure statics extracted

from Panozzo et al [2013] on a physical simulator
with glue.

2. SURVEY
This survey is an approach for those methodologies of
procedural modeling techniques based on structural design and
masonry.
Whiting et al. [2009], describes a method based on masonry
structures such as cathedrals, stone bridges and more for
procedural modeling. This allows the user or designer creating
a set of rules for the aspect or architecture of the building
through parameters.
Once the user has created the set of rules, automatically the
method searches the stable configuration for the building shape
according to physical constraints with the resolution of inverse
static problems through quadratic equations of equilibrium.

Whiting et al. [2012], introduces us a method who analyzes

a given masonry building geometry through their vertex
coordinates.
Once the geometry is loaded, the aim of the method is to
create a new stable structure through the analysis of the
gradient stability, according to constraints introduced
previously by the user, such as horizontal direction, vertical
direction and block thickness. Indeed, we should add that this
method allows the user loading cable structures and doing their
related analysis.
This method is suitable for those designers who want
improve the feasibility of their design by changing the
geometry of it through constraints on the gradient.

This method is suitable for historical education and

architectural design that allows the user analyzing the ancient
buildings.

Figure4. Changing the design of a building through

constraints on the gradient, [Image source: Whiting et al.
[2012] paper]

Panozzo et al [2013], introduces us an algorithm that no

requires any structural knowledge from the user because
automatically generates a 3D masonry structure from an input
shape and height given.
Figure3. Cluny Abbey in France, [Image source: Whiting
et al. [2009] paper]

Whiting [2011], in her PhD thesis, an extension of Whiting

et al. [2009], introduce us a new set of methods that resolves
the traditional resolution of structural analysis through the
integration of architecture design and structural analysis.
Furthermore, to achieve this she has developed two methods
focused on geometry and equilibrium of masonry structures
with the aim to obtain the most suitable building feasible.
With this contribution for computers graphics, the author
helps the community to resolve problems of visual realism in
virtual environments.

Moreover, the new structure is generated and designed to

be a self-supporting structure without glue where their shape as
close as the input.
This new algorithm has been validated by printing 3D
models and we should add that is suitable for virtual
environments.
On the other hand, we have taken one generated masonry
model and tested it again on a virtual environment with the aim
of raising the knowledge about this type of virtual shape for
our research.

3. A STRUCTURE STATICS TEST

In the middle age, when a church were built, especially
when the process of construction where at last phase, the
masons were constructing the vault, it was a habit from the
sculptor to sculpt each block of stone with the size that fits in
the final placement of the vault.
Indeed, this is the reason that we have taken as a model for
our building research the model vault from Panozzo et al.
[2013], because each piece of this vault has designed with the
most suitable size for their respective place like ancient
buildings such as churches or cathedrals.
We have tested the statics of this vault on Houdini
environment through Bullet solver. The test have two lines of
research, in the first line of research the aim is to find the most
suitable values for the geometry in the dynamics environment.
Figure5. An illustration how the algorithm works and his
results [Image source: Panozzo et al. [2013] paper]

Deuss et al. [2014], introduces us a new algorithm who

processes all kind of generated masonry models, from
historical buildings to freeform.
At first, the algorithm takes a masonry structure built in
rigid blocks and transforms it into an ordered sequence where
these are added by this that is altering the placements of chains
and hooks.
Once the quasi-arches of the structure have been detected
by the algorithm, this builds these through blocks. When this
step ends, the next is filling the empty regions among the
quasi-arches with blocks following the process described
before.

Once we have obtained the most suitable values that

improve the statics, then we have started the second line of
research that improve the entire vault over walls with the aim
of improve the statics and the minimum weight value for the
walls without glue for the vault.

3.1.First line of research

For this part of our research, we have reduced the vault
until six pieces, and numerated these. Furthermore, we have
fixed four of them and let two under gravity force (3 and 27) as
we can see in the image below.

The model has been tested using a self-supporting surfaces,

one of them is from Panozzo et al. [2013], who validates it for
small-scale with 3D printed models.
Finally, we should say that the curators have a new tool that
is able to help them in the future restoration of ancient
buildings.

Figure7. A section of the vault

We tested it with the default values provided by bullet
solver and physics tab of Houdini. But the density has been
adjusted to the granite value. The results obtained have been
bad. The pieces 3 and 27 have moved from their initial position
during the simulation.
Figure6. Testing the algorithm with Panozzo et al. [2013]
vault. [Image source: Deuss et al. [2014] paper]

To correct this we have adjusted the values on physics tab,

especially those values referred to the friction, dynamic friction

and rotational friction. Furthermore, we adjust the values for

the Bullet solver with the aim of obtains an accurate result.
Once we have adjusted these values and ran the simulation,
we have obtained better results were the movement of the piece
3 and 27 is imperceptible. With these results we are ready to
start the second line of research.

3.2. Second line of research

Obviously, we continue decreasing the walls weight value

until 1.2 m and rerun the simulation. The results that we have
obtained were the increase of the cracks on the walls. But,
with the evidence of these results, we think that the entire
structure is able to collapse in any moment.
For this reason, we have decided to add buttress to the entire
structure. Furthermore, with this action we hope that our
structure supports their weight as we can see in the image
below.

For this line of research, we have built three walls of

granite stone with a weight of 2 meters and added a bit of glue
that simulates ancient concrete. On the top of these, we have
placed the imported vault geometry. Obviously, with the
parameters imported from the first line of research for our
entire vault as we can see in the image below.

Figure10. Our structure with buttress.

When we ran the simulation, we have obtained better
results, the vault supports their own weight and the walls have
not any damage in their structure.

Figure8. Our vault over the walls that simulates an ancient

building.
Once we have run the simulation, the vault collapses. With
the aim of fix it, we have adjusted the value of rotational
friction for the vault until it works in the simulation.
At this point, we have started reducing the weight of walls
step by step. At first, we reduced it until 1.5 m and run the
simulation. The vault supports their weight with the new walls
features; we have a few cracks damage on the walls, as we can
see in the image below.

At this point, we decided to reduce the weight of our walls

again until 0.5 m. With these walls parameters, we have
obtained good results with the vault and the walls.
Finally, we decided to do a final proof. We reduce the
number of buttress from three until two per wall and enlarge
the wall buttress until a 1 m of weight. The results obtained
were worse when we ran the simulation, the vault falls down as
we can see in the image below.

Figure10. Our vault is falling down.

Figure9. Our vault over thicker walls.

We can see that the minimum number of buttress for our

structure is more than two per wall.

4.

Models, ACM Transactions on Graphics

(SIGGRAPH, 2013)

STRUCTURE STATIC TEST WITH GLUE

According to the second line of research, we have

improved the statics of our structure; with the best results of
the last prove with glue value for the vault.
The aim of this, is simulating the process of building like
medieval masons, thats sometimes they added a bit of
concrete among the stone.
The results obtained adding a bit of glue combined with the
best parameters of the last proof failed completely. Only it
works if we return the value of glue until zero. As we can see
in the image below.

Figure11. Our vault is falling down again with glue value.

5. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK

The results show us that for our structure, we should have a
minimum thick value for the walls combined with buttress if
we want that our structure works fine.
Indeed, we have observed that our vault only works with
compression forces without glue, we think that probably when
we were adding a glue value at the same time the friction value
among stones were decreasing thanks to the design of the vault.
Once again, we the Panozzo et al. [2013] algorithm, has been
validated.
For future work, we think to creates an algorithm that
improve automatically the tick of walls respect a selfsupporting vault.

REFERENCES

Mario Deuss, Daniele Panozzo, Emily Whiting, Yang

Liu, Philippe Block, Olga Sorkine-Hornung, Mark
Pauly, Assembling Self-Supporting Structures,
ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH ASIA,
2014)

Daniele Panozzo, Philippe Block, Olga SorkineHornung, Designing Unreinforced Masonry

Emily Whiting, Hijung Shin, Robert Wang, John

Ochsendorf & Frdo Durand, Structural
Optimization of 3D Masonry Buildings,
SIGGRAPH Asia 2012

Emily Whiting, Design Of Structurally-Sound

Masonry Buildings Using 3D Static Analysis, PhD
Thesis, Advisors: John Ochsendorf & Frdo Durand,
MIT 2011

Emily Whiting, John Ochsendorf & Frdo Durand,

Procedural Modeling of Structurally-Sound
Masonry Buildings, SIGGRAPH Asia 2009