Studios

In this fourth episode of Grasshopper for Beginners, the explanation of the graphical user interface continued. We call the data flow diagrams definitions. GH definitions are rendered on a large blank screen area called canvas. We can zoom in and out (zoom) the canvas with…

The Istanbul Bilgi University Scientific Research Project, titled “Exploring the Possibilities of Using Game Engine-Based Collaborative Virtual Environments in Architectural Design Studios”, or “Virtual Design Studio” in short, is about testing a virtual environment for online and blended models of education in architectural design studios….

Installation In this episode of Grasshopper for Beginners, we will look at the Interface. If you do not have the Rhino software, you can download the 90-day trial version from www.rhino3d.com and install it. The website will give you the latest version, Rhino 7. The…

We continue the Grasshopper for Beginners (2) series with the data flow programming concept. Control flow diagrams we use in traditional programming languages control the sequence of executed commands. In data flow diagrams, the focus is not on the order of commands but on how…

This is a new series aimed at beginners in Grasshopper. The design method pioneered by Grasshopper with the way he defines geometric relationships is becoming increasingly popular today. Its interactive interface, which looks like a game or a puzzle at first glance may seem easy…

Below are some of the student works from the 2018 course: Design Mathematics. The final project of the course was about experimenting the designerly creativity. This included utilizing the mathematical concepts and objects studied throughout the semester. This was a rather open-ended homework question. But…

In Design Mathematics 2019 course, Berke Çelik designed the Enneper Slide in his final project. The Enneper surface is an interesting case since it is a minimal surface with potential variations for spatial implementations. Berke used Rhino Math and Grasshopper / Weaverbird to generate his…

Today, I am introducing a student work from the Design Mathematics course. Foad Sarsangi is a very talented designer, who attended my elective course last semester. The final project he studied was inspired by Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus chapel. Foad wanted to experience its special…

This is a student project of the Computation-based Basic Design Lanterns finals of the year 2019. This year was exceptionally successful in creating 3d components and constructing relationships as a systematic whole. Again, the students started with small-scale experiments on folding and attaching cards. This…

Here is a design exercise I’ve been giving to students. It aims to familiarize students with the concept of dataflow diagrams used in Grasshopper. Dataflow is a different concept than conventional computer programming. Here is a good comparison between control flow and dataflow languages. In…

This project is developed in the summer workshop titled Robotic Earthcrafts conducted at İstanbul Bilgi University Architectural Design graduate program. Students call this project “ZOM”. Students are Murat Sökün, Zeynep Çakmak, and Özlem Güven. We organized the workshop together with Fulya Akipek and Hülya Oral….

In the Digital Fabrication course, I needed to explain the plane orientation and rotation angles. This is why I prepared this Spatial Recognition Test. This is an important topic regarding the matching of the TCP (tool center point) plane of the robot and the plane(s)…

One of the new assignments of our Computation-based Basic Design studio is called “Self-Organizing Patterns”. Although I’m not very sure about their self-organization potential, there are several good examples of systematic pattern-making. In the third week of their design education, some of the students proved…

This is a competition entry on the innovative uses of natural stone. Urban Polyhedra aims to organize the natural stone usage, especially on the shores. In the current implementation of this system, random blocks are placed to prevent landslides on the urban coastal areas, but…

This is the first assignment named Design in the Forest of the new “Computation-based Basic Design” curriculum at İstanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Architecture. We are excited to see the students merging their conceptions of natural structures with the skills they start gaining in geometry classes….

Can digital design and robot technology be integrated with an ecological design approach? The robotic earthcrafts workshop at Istanbul Bilgi University attempts to relate to biological parameters and digital design and fabrication processes. Thus, the summer school will include seminars and practices on computational design,…

This video shows the method of constructing equal segments on a line by only using compass operations. Here, you can see that there is a pattern in the number of required compass operations. For example, if you need to divide the distance by 3, you…

I realized this method of constructing basis splines from given control points while searching for a way to teach students about basis splines. I couldn’t find an easy and visual method to create clamped basis splines by connecting simple cubic Bézier spans. It is a…

Jumping into the world of mathematics as a designer seemed to be frightening at the beginning but I opened a new elective course at Bilgi, Design Mathematics. Starting today, I’ll try to log my experiences with the students while we are trying to understand mathematics….

The Cut & Fold & Craft exercise is the mid-term project for last year’s Computation-based Basic Design Studio at İstanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Architecture. I really enjoyed the technique called Kirigami. Most of the projects are not flat-foldable but they are all cut from…