This research develops a shape grammar to generate solutions for the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. More precisely, it proposes a transformation grammar for sobrado buildings, a typology present in the historic center of São Luís, Brazil. The methodology defines a workflow for adapting sobrado buildings, once characterized for single-families, into multi-family apartments considering spatial and structural requirements. The grammar specifies a framework for repurposing historic buildings into social housing and considers the allocation of three types of apartments in the floor plan: studios, one-bedroom apartments, and two-bedroom apartments. The adopted strategy for spatial planning prioritizes access to natural daylight. The grammar supports different layout solutions for the same building and aims to accelerate the reuse of historic structures for contemporary housing needs. This paper describes the grammar rules and their application to three case study buildings.

The historical center of São Luís is host to a diverse historic and urban ensemble, reminiscent of the 18th and 19th centuries. The architectural typology which can be found there illustrates the strong influence drawn from the Portuguese style known as Pombalino, developed during the reconstruction process of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake. Due to the historical relevance of these buildings which encapsulate this period in time, it is important to preserve and maintain the buildings located in this region. Adaptive reuse projects have an important role to play in preserving architectural ensembles like this. The first part of the adaptive process is to document and understand the original configuration of the building with the aim of maintaining the elements with historical relevance. Therefore, this project proposes the use of a shape grammar approach to analyze floor plans, aiming to further contribute to adaptive reuse projects for ‘Sobrado’ buildings. The process focuses specifically on a case study building and aims to document and identify the specific placement of elements in the floor plan in an effort to provide a deeper understanding of future adaptive reuse.

This research develops a shape grammar to generate solutions for the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. More precisely, it proposes a transformation grammar for the sobrado building, a typologypresent in the historic center of São Luís, Brazil. The methodology defines a workflow for adapting sobrado buildings, once characterized for single-families, into multi-family apartments consideringspatial and structural requirements. The grammar specifies a framework for repurposing historic buildings into social housing and considers the allocation of three types of apartments in the floor plan: studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. The adopted strategy for spatial planning prioritizes access to natural daylighting. The grammar supports different layout solutions for the samebuilding and aims to aid in accelerating the reuse of historic structures for contemporary housing needs. This paper describes the grammar rules and their application to three case study buildings.