Applying grammatical formalisms to engineering problems
requires consideration of spatial, functional, and
behavioral design attributes. This paper explores structural
design languages and semantics for the generation of feasible
and purposeful discrete structures. In an application of
shape annealing, a combination of grammatical design generation
and search, to the generation of discrete structures, rule
syntax, and semantics are used to model desired relations
between structural form and function as well as control
design generation. Explicit domain knowledge is placed
within the grammar through rule and syntax formulation,
resulting in the generation of only forms that make functional
sense and adhere to preferred visual styles. Design interpretation,
or semantics, is then used to select forms that meet functional
and visual goals. The distinction between syntax used in
grammar rules to explicitly drive geometric design and
semantics used in design interpretation to implicitly guide
geometric form is shown. Overall, the designs presented
show the validity of applying a grammatical formalism to
an engineering design problem and illustrate a range of
possibilities for modeling functional and visual design
criteria.