Discourses

Nowadays I plan to enter Rhinoscript, Python, and DesignScript back again. However, I can’t leave Grasshopper3D without mentioning the “cognitive shift” it pioneered in the design computing community. Here is a phrase from a famous special issue of “Computer” Journal, published in 1982 with Tilak Agerwala and Arvind’s editorials; Data flow languages form a subclass of the languages which are based primarily upon function application (i.e., applicative languages). By data flow language we mean any applicative language based entirely upon…

In 1982, it has been more than 15 years since the dataflow approach to algorithm designing are discussed in computer science. Computer journal publishes a special issue with the foreword of Tilak Agerwala; he says; …We have discussed two characteristics of the von Neumann model of computation: global updatable memory and a single program counter. It will become clear shortly that the data flow model has neither of these. First, the data flow model deals only with values and not with names of value containers…

When I was younger, among the branches of philosophy, I had studied a little logic and, among the subjects of mathematics, geometrical analysis and algebra, three arts or sciences which looked as if they ought to contribute something to my project. But in looking at them, I took care, because, so far as logic is concerned, its syllogisms and most of its other instructions serve to explain to others what one already knows or even, as in the art of…

Since last week, I’m very curious about circle packing. There are a couple of complete solutions on the internet. I’m still in the early steps of such a solution yet. A full circle packing means that it does not include any gaps and each circle is tangent to all possible neighbors. Sounds easy in Grasshopper but I couldn’t see any solution yet. There are some circle-packing attempts but they have gaps. Also, I don’t want to use an evolutionary solver…

Which keywords are the most popular, regarding contemporary architectural geometry? Above is the wordle.net analysis result for all 155k words of the famous book “Architectural Geometry” by H. Pottmann, A. Asperl, M. Hofer, and A. Kilian. Not many surprises though, this may be a starting point for research on today’s understanding of geometry in architectural design. You can click on the image to see the top 500 words mentioned in the book. It may be used to construct a conception…

Here is the preface of the famous book “Architectural Geometry”. It simply encourages me to learn new things every day even sometimes it seems to become impossible. Geometry lies at the core of the architectural design process. It is omnipresent, from the initial form-finding stages to the actual construction. Modern constructive geometry provides a variety of tools for the efficient design, analysis, and manufacture of complex shapes. This results in new challenges for architecture. However, the architectural application also poses…

Joseph Bergin‘s pedagogical patterns for computer science education returned my attention to teaching methods I’ve searching for almost five years. Here is a phrase from a paper submitted to pedagogical pattern language project: Most educators and trainers are not taught how to teach. Rather, they often find themselves teaching by accident. Typically, a person with a skill that is in demand, such as a particular programming language, will be asked to teach it. People assume that if the person is good in this…

The logical structure of computer-aided architectural design tools is based on object orientation. New design methodologies named Building Information Modeling or Virtual Building aim to improve this structure by synchronizing the digital object classes with real architectural products. Therefore, CAD becomes smart and parametric. But from the design educator’s point of view, most commercial CAD tools are not useful and too complicated to implement basic spatial concepts. This is the introduction to the above conceptions using a short-term design exercise….

Here is an interesting six-year-old quote from Rivka Oxman, telling us about a potential class of designers. The particular character, type, class or whatever we call could be more sophisticated people than we imagine today. It tells me that, advances in design computing does make high-end techniques available for large communities, and re-define basics of architectural geometry for everyone in digital age, but always there seem to remain a small group of avant-garde. If Ms. Oxman is right, then the…

I recently discovered Wordle, a visualization tool for websites. I’m very curious about the social network of design computing community. Trying to understand the trends, how the knowledge is spreading, and the role of different actors on this developing field of architectural design. First of all, I analyzed designcoding.net with all words within 103 posts until today (Click on the image for full size). Wordle can be visited by clicking here. Below is the grasshopper3d.com’s wordle result. I suspect it’s rss…