Week 3 Task

WEEK 3 ALGORITHMIC EXPLORATION DESIGN TASK Tommy Heng - 516673 Studio 8/9

A L G O R I T H M - 1

The Grasshopper definition describes a gridshell mapped onto a lofted surface. Using the shift list component, I was able to create an overlapping crossover pattern with the polylines. Although it is a fairly simple definition, there were issues in the way the arcs were distributed across the surface. The geodisic curve node will not work properly if the geometry of the curves and surface is too uneven. There are two sliders which control the degree of shift in the arcs as well as the thickness of the piped linework.

1. Unbaked Grasshopper definition of the gridshell

2. Baked and rendered model

3. Baked and rendered model

A L G O R I T H M - 2

This second Grasshopper definition was an attempt to overlay a voronoi grid over the lofted surface that was produced in the first algorithm. There were a lot of issues with regard to the way the cells and grids were mapped onto the surface. As you can see, the final model is still unresolved in terms of how its linework and piping don’t terminate cleanly at end points. However, this definition was interesting as it allowed me to quickly alter the pattern through a boolean input panel. Models like this can be frustrating to bake and manipulate as they are very complex. The lag and prcoessing times are very long.

1. The surface is divided and laid with a grid of points

2. Manipulation and experimentation with the Voronoi and cull pattern inputs

3. Final baked and rendered model

4. Final baked and rendered model

A L G O R I T H M - 3

This Grasshopper definition simple overlays a hexagonal grid pattern onto the lofted surface. I had plenty of issues trying to lay a hexagonal or triangulated grid onto the surface, hence I borrowed someone elses and attached it to the definition i had created earlier. The biggest issue I had was trying to figure out how I could define a plane to allow the grid nodes to function. However, it seems that you would need to customise and generate your own algorithm to do this.

A L G O R I T H M - 4

Although not explicitly related to the task, I experimented with image sampling techniques which allowed me to produce very intersting surface topologies and patterns. In this case, I sampled a black and white image and defined a number value according to the blackness or whiteness areas in the image. The number slider to the right allows me to control the distortion of the strip surfaces as they respond to the values in the image. This is a good way of creating responsive facades.

1. Basic linework and grid definition

2. Manipulation and distortion of the lines according to values defined in the image.

3. Translation of linework into strip surfaces.

4. Increasing the multiplier value as to increase or decrease the distortion.