Focused workshops are now available in your preferred software, to upskill you and your team, ensuring that techniques do not limit your design potential.

Learn contemporary design software including Rhino, Grasshopper and Revit; digital design techniques including Parametric Design and Scripting; and software integration.

Offered for the first time in 2011, this class is an introduction to algorithmic design techniques for the generation and analysis of architectural organisations of space.  Through a series of lectures and practical examples, we will theoretically investigate recursion through l-systems and fractal growth; non-linear dynamics; and complex systems such as cellular automata, autonomous agents, self-organisation and adaption.  We will accomplish this through high level research and the development of custom software in Rhino.

With the release of Rhino 5.0, we now have access to the Python programming language within Rhino.  Python is a modular, object-oriented language with the potential to move beyond scripting into developing custom-written software for architectural design and development.  It is cross-platform and software independent.

Instructor: Rob Beson

I have been recently working on a number of website designs including the new UTS Architecture website. This has become a portal for allowing staff and students to upload the latest work and news happening within the School of Architecture at UTS. This website will continue to evolve and content is being published daily, so be sure to keep your eye on it.

Now that the input data is quite flexible through image maps, we focused on the base geometry – as this was still limited as a 2D plane. We wanted to improve the versatility of this by allowing the importing of geometry from Rhino. In addition to this, we added code to check if the file has been updated to allow for a realtime update as we progressed.

Development of User Interface in Visual Studio C++ w/ Open Cascade and QT Designer

Porosity

Texture

Banding

Ridges

Decay

We began with a series of introduction lectures from Mark and Jane which introduced the background to the project, essentially identifying the opportunity for further research into the acoustical properties of doubly ruled surfaces. This research was introduced in response to the feedback being received from the Sagrada Familia regarding the positive acoustic behaviour leading to the hypothesis that the complex surface detail may lead to sound scattering, essentially reducing the effect of echo’s in the space. From my understanding, plaster is typically a hard material that reflects sounds readily. The task of this workshop would be to explore the possibilities of introducing variation into a flat surface in an attempt to understand if this contributes positively to the sound scattering – something that is quite difficult to measure typically.

We were then introduced to the sound testing equipment by Tobias which in turn partly setup the strategy for how we were to proceed with the workshop. We have access to an acoustical chamber that will measure the scattering coefficient of sound through a series of calculations. The type of analysis for sound scattering is quite limited in comparison with those available for absorption. With this in mind, we were set the task of designing options to test in this chamber.

This led onto the start of the design process. We were introduced by Alex to the software we would be using. Basically we combined the Open Cascade geometry library with QT interface tools through the C++ programming language. Open Cascade allows the construction of complex geometry and calculates intersections and booleans very accurately. We were provided a template that allowed an initial experimentation into setting out a grid of hyperboloid revolutions onto a surface. The controls allowed the manipulation of spacing, count and angles. These were linked into an attractor which allowed to distribute variable parameters across the surface.

As with any parametric setup, the constraints and relationships allow you to manipulate the design which allows flexibility, however it is also constraining and forces the designer into a certain mode of operation. Part of the workshop is focused around exploring the software interface and allowing the construction of new parametric rigs to control the surface apertures.

An initial way to modify the parametric structure would involve modifying the positions of the hyperbolas. The demo rig sets up a grid topology and instantiates geometry based on that. I attempted to modify this system in two ways:

• The first approach was to open up a new method that would allow the placement of points on the surface via UV coordinates rather than a grid. Essentially this would open the option to construct grids or point placement through various algorithms rather than be limited to a grid. I constructed a test rig that would divide the surface evenly in one direction with a variable division in the other direction. This sets up a grid that has a variety of bands. The spacing could be used to determine the radius of the hyperbolas and hence add banding variation into the wall apertures.
• The second approach was to control the radius variation graphically rather than algorithmically. This idea was suggested by Ralf and involved reading the gray values from an image and encoding that into values. Basically this allows the control of the system to be understood graphically through the construction of grayscale maps. This makes it quite easy to gradient patterns and even combine multiple logics through layering up logics in photoshop.

The final development was a technical improvement on the code. Basically the original demo code would generate the complex hyperbola surfaces when any slider was moved. As the model became more detailed, this would create a strain on the computer and often crash. In order to resolve this, I developed a method that would only display a graphical representation of the surface (a basic circle with a changing radius) that would indicate the behaviour of the system. The system can then be explored and a search for a solution is not limited to computational power. Once the solution is determined, this can then be exported into the IGES format which is then taken into Digital Project for further refinement.

The refinement in Digital Project involves thickening each surface and splitting it with its neighbour. This is completed using a macro developed by Alex and allows for the quick propogation of booleans to construct a solid ready for 3D Printing. The model is then split into four quadrants to meet the manufacturing limits of the 3D Printer.

This is a two part tutorial on how to read values from Excel into Grasshopper.

Part 1 will describe a technique for reading excel data through a CSV file and extracting the various values into data lists for you to work with.
Part 2 will apply this to a parametric bench example that has variables to control several profiles.

I have attached a grasshopper file and a CSV file for this demonstration. In the second part, I will demonstrate a method of having a user friendly interface in Excel.

Download source files.

The basic process:

1. Read CSV files and extract each variable set as a branch
2. Graft the variable lists to allow each profile to use its related variables
3. Construct profiles based on moving points and variable values
4. Loft to form bench
5. Update Excel > Save as CSV > See changes

I have included two grasshopper rigs – The parametric bench with sliders and the parametric bench with excel link.

With the Sliders, you can link in to Galapagos if you have a fitness function. You can also tweak and sculpt the bench on the spot.
With the Excel, you may apply macros and functions to provide mathematical control over your profile shapes. Also a slight tweaking of the grasshopper file will allow the number of profiles to be dependent on how many entries there are in Excel. (Calculate number of rows in Excel, bring that in as a value, divide a line by that number to get your profile origin points).

This is a two part tutorial on how to read values from Excel into Grasshopper.

Part 1 will describe a technique for reading excel data through a CSV file and extracting the various values into data lists for you to work with.
Part 2 will apply this to a parametric bench example that has variables to control several profiles.

I have attached a grasshopper file and a CSV file for this demonstration. In the second part, I will demonstrate a method of having a user friendly interface in Excel.

Download source files.

The basic process:

1. Read CSV File
2. Split the values by ‘,’
3. Flip the data structure so that each column becomes a branch
4. Extract the branch you want
5. Shift the list by 1 to remove the header

As part of the Skills Bootcamp conducted at The University of Technology Sydney, I have developed a series of Python Examples that step through the generation of a twisted tower using Classes. The source code for the example is attached below.

- classStructure.py : Basic Structure of a Python Class
- tutorial01.py : Defining a Basic Slab Class
- tutorial02.py : Adding rotation property to Slab Class
- tutorial03.py : Defining a series of slabs using a For Loop
- tutorial04.py : Extracting the Corner Points and creating Corner Columns
- tutorial05.py : Adding a Core
- tutorial06.py : Adding multiple rotated slabs per level and Boolean Commands

pythonClassesPackage

This is intended to be an intro into using Python, Classes and Rhino 5.0. If you have any suggestions to improve the code or want to develop the example further, please do so and feel free to email me the modifications!

Cheers,

Ben