A new approach to the block layout problem

The main problem concerned with applying graph theory to facilities layout is the conversion of the dual graph to a block layout. This paper presents a new method of producing a planar orthogonal layout or floorplan of a set of facilities subject to adjacency and area constraints. It improves upon previous approaches by accepting any maximal planar graph representing the adjacencies as input. Simple selection criteria for choosing the next facility to be inserted into the floorplan are used. Further, any sensible orthogonal shape for the facilities in the resulting floorplan can be generated.