thanks to the amazing community of developers, experts and testers that frequent grasshopper3d.com and food4rhino.com, the plugin has been expanding it’s toolsets and knowledgebase to cater for a very diverse range of investigations and interoperations.

today the plugin got a whole lot better!

the amazing duo of michalatos panagiotis & kaijima sawako which have developed some very interesting bespoke engineering and dynamics software such as graphemes and topostruct (one of our fav’s) releases the grasshopper solver for topostruct which performs structural analysis and material optimizing algorithms on geometry.

Millipede allows for very fast linear elastic analysis of frame and shell elements in 3d, 2d plate elements for in plane forces, and 3d volumetric elements. All systems can be optimized using built in topology optimization methods and have their results extracted and visualized in a variety of ways.

In addition millipede implements a few basic geometric features (extraction of iso surface meshes from volumetric scalar fields or and extraction of curved contours over any mesh) and a few numerical analysis tools (Fast fourier transforms in 1 and 2 dimensions, sparse linear system solver and eigenvalue calculation for large matrices using functionality from the intel math kernel library).

you can download the beta version at: http://www.sawapan.eu/

we will be running a short course over the next few months at the university of sydney (australia) which will explore parametric and scripting techniques used in a real life design to construction project. the studio will run over 5 weeks of lecture and tutorial sessions and there will also be a one week construction phase to assemble the minimal tension terrace canopy designed by urban future and fabricated by ccmi installations.

from code to production: grasshopper, scripting + digital fabrication elective.
starting 2nd may: enrol now!

minimal tension canopy will introduce you to cutting edge digital mapping, design, prototyping and construction through the engagement with a real life architecture project that deals with generative geometries, structural affordances and the assembling of composite building components of a complex system.
(students should have a basic knowledge of grasshopper or similar scripting language).
code + learning outcomes
course on wednesday 4-8pm for 5 weeks
• 1 hour lecture
• 3 hour lab sessions
• 2 days construction workshop

• students will learn and apply techniques of modelling, scripting processes, and production methods through digital fabrication (assessed in weekly exercises, final portfolio).
• students will gain knowledge and experience in generative processes (3d modelling and scripting), and in experience of thinking through design in a framework of digital fabrication.
• students will demonstrate their understanding of 3d modelling and scripting techniques through a series of architectural variations in relation to context parameters (assessed in weekly exercises).
• students will gain practical experience of construction in relation to digital design and digital fabrication.
classes run by dirk anderson, director of urban future organization (ufo) sydney. ufo was founded in london during 1996 as a collective of self-organised architectural practices who share common design strategies in practice, professionalism, and architectural discourse. ufo has an international agenda, yet maintains the specific qualities of local diversity. its members are multi-national design professionals, who conduct their work through collaboration with experienced consultants.
schedule

week 8 – 02 may – lab: leading students through grasshopper introduction + sketch of geometric typologies.
week 8 – 03 may – lab: leading students through grasshopper tutorials of each of the 6 geometric typologies.
week 9 – 09 may – lab: grasshopper tutorial on contextual effectors and field conditions
week 10 – 16 may – lab: grasshopper to rhino fabrication methods translating parts for digital fabrication.
week 11 – 21 may – lab: site mapping techniques (3d laser scanning, spatial scanner, photometry, openstreetmap.org.
week 12 – 28-31 may – site: participating in groups in the assemblage of the ‘minimal surface roof canopy’.
week 13 – 7 june – feedback session on all assignments.
this elective is open to students across the university. students from other institutions are also welcome to enrol through special permission via their home faculties.

register your interest with your name and student number to:
arch.sac@sydney.edu.au | ph. 93513248

in terms of design, fabrication and construction, there were a number of important factors that implemented in order to create an efficient structure. maximum structural lengths, membrane offsets, membrane stretch and clash detection were all applied as coded subroutines optimised for the organization and construction of the structure.

due to the minimal 1.25mm thick walled circular hollow section recycled aluminium tubing, the maximum spans of 6.5 metres meant that each node location could adapt its position with respect to neighbouring node locations, providing a relaxation of the network. the same script could be applied to the membrane, adjusting for percentage of stretch inherent in the material qualities before creating the unfolded cutting template.

with 102 structural members in total, the part layout and stack order of each node required a large number crunching exercise to resolve intersecting geometry within a 1mm tolerance allowed by the structural engineer. there are 46 nodes across the pavilion with up to 7 stacked parts on each connection (7 connecting members produce 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 5040 permutations of stack orders) meant a large amount of possible combinations per node to review and resolve clashes – an unbelievable amount of variations when dealing with the entire 46 nodes.

after writing the clash detection and permutation script, the entire structure can be optimised and stack arranged within 2.1 seconds – demonstrating the power in scripting and parametrics and exhibiting the level importance that these techniques carry when faced with complex problem solving.

the structure only took the two of us to layout and assemble on site. it then required one person on each node to lift it to the correct height in order to fix the perimeter structure. once in place we made our way around each node tighten all the bolts and spigots in order to form a ridged structure.

now all that remains is for it to be skinned and inhabited. we are pretty excited about the completion of this project we will be given a talk on the design of the hub at peats ridge festival on the 30^th december.

due to the complexity the SAAC educational hub components that we have been developing, the part layout and stack order of each node required a large number crunching exercise to resolve intersecting geometry.  there are 46 nodes across the pavilion with up to 7 stacked parts on each connection (7 elements produces 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 5040 permutations of stack orders) meant a LOT of possible combinations per node to review & resolve clashes… an unbelievable amount of variations when dealing with the entire 46 nodes.

After a day of writing the clash detection script, the entire structure was optimised and stack arranged within 2.1 seconds – which demonstrated to us why scripting and grasshopper are important to problem solving within our practice.

the attached script takes a string of elements, breaks down into a character (Char) list and produces a set of all possible permutations.  the script can also be used for numbers, doubles and combination of any character.

download the sample package here.

a vb script which checks whether a curve intersects a box geometry - if so, the geometry will be subdivided into child geometry. the recursive script is repeated a number of specified generations to produce subsequent offspring.  the script can be modified to create a datatree of parts with a recording of subdivision topology included in the output.  this script is a voxel-type recursive patterning version of the recursive subdivision panelling script posted earlier.

more vb utilities being uploaded to the grasshopper3d repository (located in the sidebar).

download the sample package here.

the veil house in surry hills has now been completed. click through for more photos of the interior and exterior.photos by felix forest.

this vb script takes a list of separate lines, checks if endpoints are coincident and will attempt to create a tri-mesh if any set of 3 lines in the list form a planar closed shape.  more vb utilities being uploaded to the grasshopper3d repository (located in the sidebar).

download the sample package here.

click the image to view more on the project.

suburban patterning
overpopulation, over-consumption, depletion of cheap energy, re-evaluation of arable land and encroachment of topological boundaries are ultimately leading to the collapse of the suburban dream.
these nascent planning constraints will calibrate a search for available land towards more extreme topological and climatic environments, forcing an intelligent and adaptive framework of planning to emerge. we propose that a greater focus should be placed on that of a time based evaluation of growth, densification and network sustainability which is directly responsive to the environment in which it is located.
extreme ecologies can be described as two entities.  this is either their regular state which can be categorized as an number of the following scenarios; steep terrain, climatic extremes such as desert, forest boundaries, high wind areas and flood prone regions or secondly ecosystems which has altered far beyond their natural balance due to human actions.

diverse habitation
intuitive parametric design tools are at the forefront of the digital ‘avante garde’.  an open-source approach has enabled greater precision & focus on design objectives through customization of the tool environment. specific design rules built for structural, environmental, cost analysis, programmatic and auto-organization have given greater control over complexity, streamlining the process whilst maximizing the time available for the design search.
care will be taken into understanding issues of topographical response, density issues and adjacencies through the application of internal (singular unit) and external (field) systemic change.  the research will demonstrate the capacity of a suburban dwelling design which is adaptive not only at the planning scale but also on an individual building scale allowing for a responsiveness to orientation, network relationship, programmatic complexity and terrain condition.

nascent themes
it is through an insertion of extreme variables of environmental, organizational and programmatic conditions within the urban and architectural framework that we may diverge from the indifference of the current suburban character.  such a departure will enable a development of a new vernacular genotype for the suburban dwelling.
each archetypal outcome seeks specificity towards particular topographic, environmental and topological (neighbourhood) parameters.  we believe that the design of these responsive settlements should be based on the ecological and biological principles of permaculture which imitate the diversity of the natural ecosystem and intelligent relationships between agents.

image credits:

title image – courtesy of livingrural.net

image 1 & 4 – courtesy of christopher robeller lmu unit 4 2008

image 2 – courtesy of matt gallagher usyd 2010

image 3 – courtesy of philip early lmu unit 4 2010

the digital architecture research studio approached this brief by investigating the potential of architecture as a temporal, dynamic system (assembled and dismantled within days), a performative envelope and a machine that mirrors a multiplicity of worlds. this architecture is seen as a cultural expression that derives its lifespan from the reflective ability to address a change in context and value systems – its ability to evolve. while dynamic systems are no longer limited to adaptable, flexible, modular, or mobile approaches, students were pushed to look for novel inventions within familiar structures, for new morphologies and architectural codes.

we were keen for our students to develop their designs through the following categories:
1/ conceptual driver
2/ geometric taxa
3/ programmatic influence
4/ site specificity
5/ client expectations

our focus for our student was to develop skills in contemporary generative tools which included scripting and parametric software.  the knowledge and use of these tools would allow the students to engage confidently in non-standard geometry.

below we have showcased the work of iain blampied and oliver hessian.  they approached the project brief with the understanding that ideally this venue should be an expressive piece of architecture that attracts visitors in its own right while also leaving the inhabiting director as much freedom for creativity and as little distraction as possible.  with this in mind they defined their realm of influence as the transition of the audience from reality to intrigue within the heritage listed grounds of the quadrangle, university of sydney.

the transition is intended to link into the wider journey the audience have taken before they watch the performance and slowly remove them from their setting and reality in order to raise expectations and prepare them for the coming performance.

in order for the volume to not read as a dense block resting in the quad they generated a more transient expression in the way the building was read from the outside as well. this led to their explorations with the cylinder. they wanted the elevations to be integrated with the internal movement of the audience and looked into ways in which the variables might be manipulated in response to this movement. the variables possibly being: radius, length and density. they also considered various construction techniques in order to achieve these effects.

first images of the design proposal expressing their spatial and material intent. through this they began investigating concepts of transparency and erosion and a manner in which they could develop this effect with a real construction technique.

staging and seating banks are rentable structures that are clad with self supporting walls. the entrance is to the right of the stage and allows the audience views through the side stage and into the performance volume before the show.

the elevations are read continuously not only from the outside but from inside by influencing the density and size of the cylinders to compliment the mood of the transition stages. these also read as layers from which the space is eroded. there are 2 layers of the skin which have explored the use of colour creating a dynamic effect when moving passed the elevation as one layer’s density read against the other as the transparency shifts with the perspective.

lighting design positioned along entrance route

the elevations are split into panels with each panel having its own assembly information in order for the cylinders to be cut to the correct lengths and fixed together in the warehouse before being shipped to site on the back of a truck. the average weight of a single 4x3m panel is estimated at 450kg. the entire cladding structure is made up of 140 panels making a total weight estimate of 70 tonnes.

the cylinder skin is designed to act as a self supporting structure, gaining stability by joining over the main route at several points in order to act as a series of structural arches. the corner junction is also important, as  the external cylinders face out at all times. in order to avoid a heavy opaque corner the panel thickness fillets out to form a narrow crevice at the joint. the panels themselves have the cylinders fixed together with double-sided tape then the panels are bolted together on site.

final views expressing the external and internal effect during a performance