ALGORITHMIC SKETCHBOOK SEMESTER 1, 2015 TUTOR: ALESSANDRO LIUTI GABRIELLE LEWIS
CONTENTS 4 WEEK 1: Vases 9 WEEK 2: Installation using attractors 12
WEEK 3: Patterning
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WEEK 4: Expressions
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WEEK 5: Kangaroo Spiderwebs
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NTW: Fabrication
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WEEK 6: Technique Development
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WEEK 7: Prototyping
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WEEK 8: Technique Proposal
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FINAL DEFINITION
WEEK 1: VASES STRATEGY 1 The first strategy uses a series of circles lofted together. Number sliders for the radius of the circles and their position on the Z-axis allow for variation in their form.
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STRATEGY 2 The second strategy is similar to the first with variation on the Z-axis. For this one however, instead of using circles, I drew curves in Rhino and then used the command “Set one curve” in Grasshopper.
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WEEK 1: VASES STRATEGY 3 This vase type involved creating points in Rhino and setting them in Grasshopper. From there they were made into curves using the “Interpolate” command, before being lofted together.
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STRATEGY 4 Strategy four adds another aspect to the previous type by giving the algorithm an element of randomness for several points on each axis.
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WEEK 1: VASES STRATEGY 5 The fifth strategy involved using three points created in Rhino to form a circle. These points used a number slider for variation on the axes. The circles were then connected using the “rule surface” command.
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WEEK 2: INSTALLATION USING ATTRACTORS FORM Using attractors and a base surface drawin in Rhino, I created the pavilion/installation form below. I decided on using the “Circle” command option for creating section profiles. These were then lofted together.
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MATERIAL TECHNIQUE DRIFTWOOD SURFACE The Driftwood surface technique involved making a series of curves offset and intersected with the original lofted form. This allows for a form to be created from overlapping contours.
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WEEK 3: PATTERNING STRATEGY 1 CROSS REFERENCE LIST FROM A GRID The first patterning technique involved creating a square grid and cross referencing each point to form a list. In this option every point should connect to every other point once, however I think some error occurred with my list as it is clear that this isn’t the case
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STRATEGY 2 PATTERN FROM AN IMAGE Again using a square grid as a base, for this pattern, circles were added to each grid point. Then a black and white image was inserted to dictate the radius of the circles resulting in the following pattern.
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WEEK 4: EXPRESSIONS EX-LAB TUTORIAL EXPRESSIONS This video tutorial introduced the idea of using mathematical expressions to determine the outcome of the form. This instance used the “Point charge” command to influence the layout of the overall form’s points.
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EX-LAB TUTORIAL ARANDA LASCH: FRACTAL TETRAHEDRA Taking inspiration for Aranda Lasch’s fractal installation, I created a tetrahedral form and applied fractal patterning to it. This proved a lot easier in Grasshopper than Rhino with the “Boolean difference” command failing everytime I attempted it. Afterwards I used the same script for a couple of lofted curves as seen below.
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WEEK 4: EXPRESSIONS
EX-LAB TUTORIAL - GRIDSHELL Following the Gridshell video tutorial, I created the form seen below by using the “Geodesic curve” command. I have yet had the time to try applying the Weaverbird plug-ins in order to create an actual gridshell but I will endeavour to go back and do so.
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WEEK 4: EXPRESSIONS
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TRIGONOMETRY EXPRESSIONS Using the “Expressions” component, a lofted surface was created between a trigonometric curve and a polycurve (left). Furthering this concept, the surface was taken and a material technique was applied using the “Facet” component from the “Triangulation” menu. As seen in the image on the right, a much more interesting form can be designed when the surface is manipulated in some way.
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WEEK 4: EXPRESSIONS
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TRIGONOMETRY EXPRESSIONS Next we chose our own expressions to create a spiral type set of points. By rotating the points in terms of Pi (to create circular patternations), and then mirroring the result for added complexity a spiral is formed.
The “Voronoi” triangulation method is then applied to create some interesting patterns. “Rebuild curve” is used after this process, but by setting it at one, as in my example to the left, the result was a series of fragmented triangles as opposed to round shapes and I found this more intriguing.
This sort of method could be used to design varied patterns that can then be applied to solid surfaces or three dimensional forms.
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WEEK 5: KANGAROO SPIDERWEBS ORDINARY SPIDERWEBS (LEFT) Using the Kangaroo Physics plug in, I was able to create a a spiderweb structure, first through using the Voronoi component to realise the varied cell sizes and then with the Kangaroo Springs component to relax the structure. FIELD LINE SPIDERWEBS (RIGHT) Replicating the previous algorithm but adding another component of field lines introduces another lever of complexity to the resulting form.
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NON TEACHING WEEK: FABRICATION
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3 4 5 FABRICATING A BENCH
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From a basic geometric form (1), I experimented with several different fabrication algorithms. These include using a waffle grid (2), inflatable methods through Kangaroos (3 & 4), and creating tabs and zip teeth on unrolled surfaces (5 & 6).
INFLATABLE
MAKE TABS
MAKE ZIP TEETH WAFFLE GRID
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WEEK 6: TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT
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Technique development invloved using the case study Aggregated Porosity as precedence. These ten iterations were my starting point, experimenting with panelling tools. Gradually the original form became abstracted beyond recognition. Some of the ideas seen here, such as the extruded panels can be constructed using a waffle grid techinque.
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WEEK 7: PROTOTYPING
Linework of my prototyping stage using both sectioning and waffle grid techniques. Although these are quite simple, these prototypes were merely to show their application on a curved surface and I will definitely explore more complex forms in Part C.
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WEEK 8: TECHNIQUE PROPOSAL
Above our various versions of the basic form for my design proposal. The algorithm invloved lofting bezier curves to create the profile I was looking for and then various techniques were applied to the form, including a waffle and panelisation. Moving forward, I intend to use more complex form finding methods such as Kangaroo Physics.
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FINAL GRASSHOPPER DEFINTION
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