Automated layout design of beam-slab floors using a genetic algorithm

The beam-slab layout design task is an ill-defined problem. As a result, it is difficult to delegate this task to computers. This study proposes a new genetic algorithm to be used to perform this design task. First, a new coding scheme for beam-slab layouts is developed. After that, the beam-slab layout design problem is written as an optimization problem by establishing proper objective and constraint functions. To show the validity of the proposed algorithm, it is used to design beam-slab layouts of several floor plans. The obtained results show that the proposed technique is able to find good beam-slab layouts.