10 years ago, not everyone believed in BIM, but now it is a key standard. If we are already accustomed to BIM managers, then the architect-programmer combination is not clear to everyone. But this application is serious: because it is not based on a fashion trend, but on process optimization.
Parametrics and digital algorithms, of course, help create amazing forms, but even more they work for the benefit of practice: they increase the speed of work, find the only right solution, get rid of routine and change the structure of the work of the entire sphere.
Therefore, Dmitry Svininnikov, director of a construction company, and Artem Konevskikh, a graduate student at the Institute of Nuclear Research, signed up for the intensive course at the MARCH School “Algorithmic Design”. People with an absolutely mathematical background appeared among architects forcedly - forced by the realities of the market.
Dmitry, while working with the Danish bureau, saw how actively they use digital technologies, and realized that if you do not master the algorithms, you will soon be left without orders. Artem came for the sake of the children. He runs the Center for Youth Innovative Creativity “Physical Kunstkamera”, and for the new generation programming is the main request.
Later, already as a team, Artem and Dmitry will defend the project of a vertical green wall, win the “Agrohackathon” with it and receive an invitation to implement a complex structure. And all this after three months of training, of which, according to Artyom, he most remembered Dmitry’s constant delight: “So I would have to put three employees to work, but now there is a script that does everything without them.”
The “Amozonia” project, which was implemented as part of the intensive PRO school MARCH
Who (or what) is threatening our jobs?
The potential of algorithms in architecture is revealed by Grasshopper, which is increasingly being taught in Russia. We told the story of an architect from Strelka Design Bureau, who, after studying in London, teaches students not only the program itself, but also. MARCH actually has several courses on this topic. The next one starts on September 11: at the intensive “Adaptive Architecture”, three areas of work and the Rhino+Grasshopper+Arduino combination will be studied in a week.
Dmitry and Artem took an extended course, but it all started with basic concepts and a first acquaintance with Grasshopper. It was necessary to understand the logic of the program, which was not a big revelation for the participants. It is based on general programming principles that apply in all areas.
After a month of theory, the team began to develop the “Amozonia” project - a vertical gardening system, which is designed by the customer himself based on the required parameters: the number of pots, overall dimensions and grid shape. Based on this data, the algorithm automatically generates a design, creates drawings, and designs the irrigation system.
Amazon development stages: the algorithm simplifies user interaction, allowing you to fully customize the product, and optimizes the production process by generating all the necessary documentation, reducing the time for its development and reducing the number of employees involved in design and production.
The main task was to write an algorithm that generates a vertical garden system. In the case of Grasshopper, you don’t even need to write, but build visual chains of actions from functional nodes. Each node performs its own task, and depending on how they are connected to each other, problems in completely different directions can be solved.
Various plugins are added to the algorithm. During the course, it was necessary to develop an interface so that the customer could create the desired wall according to his own criteria. Then this interface can be built into the website and launch an online store. In total, 7-10 scripts were used for “Amazonia,” but their number is constantly growing: we listed 24 of the basic ones alone. For the interface, the Human UI plugin tied basic controls to the algorithm, and they made it possible to create a layer between the program itself and the user who far from Grasshopper.
In addition to the interface, the plugins were useful for the module that calculates the cost of the entire structure. Price calculation is just one of the concepts of parametric design: the algorithm can not only generate drawings, but also calculate the approximate cost of the structure using given coefficients and collect complete design documentation. And all this for a non-standard design, which a person made according to the interface for himself.
The result is a finished product that automatically creates a design and generates the result. Instead of a production chain where one person creates the concept, a second draws, a third makes the model, and a fourth works on the machine, everything has been reduced to a minute-by-minute operation of an algorithm. This is the economy of the future.
The complete process of creating Amazonia
Life after the course
Coincidentally, after its defense, “Amazonia” ended up at the “Agrohackathon”: a two-day marathon where teams compete in the best ideas for urban gardening. Dmitry and Artem showed up at the last moment, assembled a new version of “Amazonia” in two days and received an award for the best design project. Now the authors are invited to implement the wall in the new building of the Physics and Technology Park.
At the same time, Dmitry Svininnikov has already managed to try out new principles at his work. According to the design of the architect Vladislav Kisel, the “Grain” pavilion was installed at the Central House of Artists, which was completely designed by the Simplex Noise team, and implemented in literally 10 days. In addition to the speed of work, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality: the design was rigid, all the parts fit right next to each other and nothing needed to be altered or tightened.
Google's internal incubator Area 120, in which the search giant's employees spend a legitimate 20% of their time working on their own projects, has released a free app called Grasshopper.
It is aimed at teaching the basics of programming, or more precisely, it should help with learning the most popular programming language, JavaScript. And we’re not talking about just another boring tutorial; the app teaches coding in a very unusual way – through fun mini-games. According to the authors of the project, the goal is to arouse people’s interest in a specialty that is so in demand today and to show that the process of writing code itself can be a very exciting activity and anyone can do it.
Grasshopper teaches the basics of JavaScript through puzzles and quizzes that can be solved/passed gradually as soon as you have a free minute.
After logging into the application using a Google account, the user undergoes an “introductory briefing”, becoming familiar with the basic concepts of programming, after which he can begin completing tasks. Of course, as training progresses, the complexity of the tasks increases. The developers have provided the ability to set a class schedule and receive notifications so as not to start training and make it as useful as possible.
Grasshopper offers several courses in total. The first is called The Fundamentals and introduces concepts such as calling functions, variables, and strings. For each element there are several puzzles to consolidate the acquired knowledge in practice. For example, one of the first tests to learn shapes requires you to draw a French flag. It shows what the solution should be, and also displays a separate field with parts of the code for creating the corresponding script. Subsequent courses cover animation and more advanced features using the popular D3 library.
Separately, it is worth noting the achievements section, which collects all the data on the user’s progress - concepts learned, the number of JavaScript keys used and the total time spent on training.
The developers have no plans to add any other languages to Grasshopper. As noted on the project website, now more than 70% of professionals use JavaScript. In addition, Grasshopper teaches the basics, meaning the knowledge gained can be abstracted into other languages. But the developers are already working on further expanding the curriculum and soon promise to add new courses to the application.
Grasshopper software is now available for download in stores
The Level 2 Training Manual covers many of the most common challenging model shapes. Use this manual to learn the techniques to solve these challenging shapes. (PDF and Models)
Eighteen chapters on how to set up the interface, how to use the drawing, editing, modeling and transform tools including the new Gumball tools(270 videos)
Learn about Rhino for Mac in a 9 part tutorial by Kyle Houchens. This tutorial covers interface, sketches and surfaces in true to life workflow.
This example shows how to use Rhino to model a simple mechanical part. Then create the 2-D line drawing and modify dimension text. (Online Help)
Download the Getting Started & Online User's Guide. Includes tutorials and samples covering interface, basic commands, surfaces, solids, drafting, and image tracing.
Kyle Houchens shows you how to model ear buds working from a hand-sketched design brief. Kyle keeps it lively as he models "free style" in Rhino. (40 minutes)
James Carruthers will show his basic modeling work flow, as well as a few advanced tricks for modeling complex freeform shapes in Rhino.(1:07 hour)
The Level 2 guide covers many of the most common challenging model shapes. Use this guide to learn the techniques to solve these challenging shapes. (PDF and Models)
The Rhino V5 installer will display a log file when the installation process fails. This log file is very helpful to our technical team support in solving any problems you may have. (Article)
In this Rhinoceros video tutorial you"ll learn to model a simple scroll form like those you might see in fine woodwork or on jewelery (10 minutes)
SmartTrack is a modeling aid that displays temporary reference lines and points in the Rhino viewport. We will use it to locate dimensions and draw curves. (4 minutes)
Learn the Cage Edit command. This is a rough screen recording of GoToMeeting with a customer. Kind of fun. No Audio: Silent Movie style. (2 minutes)
Model Tolerance and Units in Rhino effects nearly every command. Learn how to configure tolerance to help you model as efficiently as possible.(8 minutes)
Rhino 5 now has many more advanced display options that can be configured to create more advanced, real-time display modes. (article and samples)
Wondering how to get started with Grasshopper? Look no further. Spend an some time with the creator of Grasshopper, David Rutten, to learn the fundamental of Grasshopper. (13 part series)
Spend an some time with the creator of Grasshopper, David Rutten, to learn one of the key concepts of Grasshopper, data trees. (6 part series)
Our Generative Jewelry and Fashion Design community is for designers who are exploring new shapes using generative algorithms. (Web site and community)
Whether you are printing your own design, or trying to prepare someone else's model, Kyle's techniques will help you get the model printed as soon as possible. (9 part series)
Learn how to create displaced mesh objects using procedural textures in Rhino 5. Displacements can be used for rendering purposes or extracted and edited for fabrication. (18 minutes)
With major changes to Rendering, Materials, or just plain capturing the viewport, it"s now easier and faster to present, discuss, make decisions, and iterate.
Rhino's new display pipeline is faster, more stable, and uses features found on modern graphics hardware, like GPU sensitive shaders and memory optimizations.
We"ve refined many parts of the documentation workflow, from a completely reworked annotation-style interface, to better DWG support, and RichText throughout.
Rhino 6 brings major improvements to our free SDKs, with API refinements, better documentation, and more access to Rhino commands from Grasshopper.
Rhino 6 contains many enhancements. Thanks to more than 40,000 beta testers, we were able to field test and refine Rhino 6, making it the most stable version ever.
RhinoScript is a scripting tool based on Microsoft's VBScript language. With RhinoScript, you can quickly add functionality to Rhino, or automate repetitive tasks.
Python is a modern “programming language”, it is typically easier to learn and use than other non-scripting style languages. Yet it is quite powerful.
By enrolling in the course, you become a full member of the League - an organization of creative people from various fields of science and art: architects, designers, filmmakers, engineers, artists, developers, analysts and other creatives.
Club membership
The League is an informal association consisting of professionals. With us you will not find entrepreneurs and employees, but a friendly team of like-minded people, always ready to help and discuss something new. We organize many master classes, conferences, workshops, parties, film screenings, competitions and other interesting events that you can always attend and, if you wish, take part in them.
Dedication and certificate
After completing the course, we organize special parties for our participants, where we sum up the results and issue certificates indicating completion of the course.
Connections and Resources
In addition, we are happy to share and exchange experiences, discuss new ideas, participate in joint projects or help find a team and partners. You will have access to all of our connections and resources.
Work and internship
We gladly help young people with internships, and we invite successful people to work in fashion bureaus, design companies and studios. If you lack funds, you can always find part-time work with us ().
Algorithmic modeling is where design and programming intersect. Grasshopper is a plugin for Rhino 3D - a graphical algorithm editor that allows you to create complex 3D models with less effort. The resulting designs are complex and flexible. In this course, artist and programmer Chris Riley provides advanced mathematical techniques and fully developed hands-on projects to help you understand how to get the most out of Grasshopper's parametric design tools. See how to build a flexible product design for mass production using a parametric design algorithm. Additionally, learn how to use plugins such as Ladybug to model large data sets, generate scripted recursive patterns, and create geometric patterns that are automatically tessed. By the end of the course, you'll see how even basic Grasshopper literacy can be applied to developing projects for art, manufacturing, architecture, and design.Algorithmic modeling is where design and programming intersect. Grasshopper-a plugin for Rhino 3D-is a graphical algorithm editor that allows you to create complex 3D models with less grunt work. The resulting designs are both sophisticated and flexible. In this course, artist and programmer Chris Reilly introduces advanced math techniques and fully-developed hands-on projects that help you understand how to make the most out of the parametric design tools in Grasshopper. See how to build a flexible product design for mass production with a parametric design algorithm. Plus, learn how to use plugins like Ladybug to model big data sets, generate recursive patterns with scripting, and build geometric patterns that auto-tessellate. By the end of the course, you’ll see how even basic literacy in Grasshopper can be applied to developing projects for art, manufacturing, architecture, and design.
MP4 1280x720 | 5h 16m | ENG | +project files
