This was an interesting challenge for me to find out if an architect can use Visual Programming Languages (VPL’s) also for graphical purposes? Now, I would say “not exactly” because this definition took much time than I expected. The aim was to create an algorithm for a business card design that has variable outputs. Each card should be different, but without using any randomization. This is achieved with a definition […]

I developed this code 13 years ago while learning the fundamentals of Visual Programming in Grasshopper. I was studying the ways of NURBS curve geometry. The animation shows the construction process of several Bezier Curves. In 2024, I optimized the code and added the thickness. The Flow Earring project showcases the beauty of parametric curves. The Grasshopper definition displays the animated construction process and the variations. The flow of the […]

The cellular canopy is an anonymous tutorial on the history recording capability of Rhino. I’ve been using a “pedagogical” version of this tutorial as an educational tool on the introduction to Grasshopper and Parametric Modeling for architects. The interesting thing with such exercises is they quickly attract students’ attention to the process of designing, in other words, “designing the design process”; is one of the first things we should emphasize […]

There are a couple of experiments in different schools about organizing free-form surfaces (walls here) with a composition of modular elements (bricks). Even though they created robots to make such brick walls, I still couldn’t understand why. Although creating a parametric model that calculates the exact locations of bricks, seems very easy at first sight, there came severe problems to solve in order to achieve a correct layout without using […]

Inspired by Andru Pavlov’s design, I used a curve to accomplish grid tearing. It’s straightforward, and from an educational perspective, this exercise includes several potentials on vector arithmetics and graph manipulation techniques. As a design domain, this definition stresses the use of associative entities in a parametric model. Any primitive or complex entity may evoke different parameters in others. You may download the Grasshopper definition here:[2012_01_06_tear]

This was my first serious Grasshopper study. In 2009, I decided to attend a design contest for a campus entrance. Of course, the jury didn’t know that the design resulted from a parametric model. I have called this Parametric Entrance since then. The starting point of this project was the conception of the “entrance” as a design problem related to the project area as a whole, rather than just a […]

It has been a tough problem for me, for the last two days. A parametric model of an interlocking structure (sometimes also called egg-crate, waffle, or contouring structure) can be created easily in Grasshopper using a Contour component. In addition, you need a couple of list management operations and a boolean (or region) difference event. However, Rhino and Grasshopper are very slow at calculating boolean differences on both solids and […]

In the post of “animated parameters” we created a video file using Grasshopper’s “animate” functionality. A sequence of images are then joined together to form a video file. This time, we’ll create an animated gif image that can be played on web without even using a video player. It is a much simplier solution but however it does not have the potentials of a “real” video file such as mp4 or […]

Since the mid-20th century, the hyperbolic paraboloid surface has been one of the most popular mathematical forms for architects. Named Hypar in short, this is the Quadric Surface equation of the Hyperbolic Paraboloid. Erik Demaine summarizes several examples from architecture such as the roof of the Girls’ Grammar School in London (designed by Chamberlin, Powell, and Bonn), the Philips pavilion at the 1958 Brussels exhibition designed by Le Corbusier, and […]

When an educational system does not meet the requirements of a paradigm, new teaching approaches start to emerge. Today, design computing pushes forward a similar transformation on architectural education. Design studio, as the dominant setting for architectural learning, is the center of this transformation. There are numerous researches, experiencing and defining this transformation from various perspectives as “cases”. However as Oxman (2008) highlights, we still need to define a general […]

An octahedron is a polyhedron and platonic solid with 8 faces of identical equilateral triangles. In this post, I will try to explain the drawing and unrolling process of the octahedron. It has a close relationship with the cube as it’s dual. In order to construct an octahedron, we first have to create a square. The main problem of drawing the square is determining the right angle (perpendicular axis) to […]

[2011_12_25_divide] here is the fundamental of surface subdivision in Grasshopper. In order to design a parametric truss exercise, this is the generally accepted starting point. Get a surface from the file, subdivide it into U and V directions to create point lists, and then manipulate these points to create something interesting. Having a list of points would also present good potential regarding attraction with other entities, such as point or […]

I am learning Grasshopper. In this Circle Crossing definition, I tried to create the above pattern (also described in Sunflower Spiral) as simply as possible, this definition creates not only spirals but is also capable of more tessellations I guess. Maybe a three-dimensional equivalent might be studied in the future. As you can see from the definition, I started with a large circle. Then, I divided it into segments and […]

This time, in order to develop a potential “dummy” surface for Grasshopper experiences, I built a better definition. The Graph Surface definition uses a polygon as a basis, divides the edges and moves them according to various parameters. It’s fun to play with mapping different graph types and various polygons and subdivision values. Surprisingly, this definition led me to a wide range of possibilities I haven’t planned. Especially, shifting the graph […]

Recording History in Rhinoceros3D has interesting potential. You might utilize it in the process of design exploration. We’ll try to show its concept and limitations; First, build two surfaces; one is planar at the world XY plane, and the other represents the “initial” form of your design. Put another surface on the planar one, as if it’s an ideal “component” of the finished geometric composition. Activate the “Record History” button […]

The dodecahedron is a Platonic Solid with 12 equilateral pentagonal faces. It has a close relationship with its 20-sided dual, Icosahedron. Mete Tüneri showed the following method of Dodecahedron construction, using only distances, corners of the pentagon, and a visionary equilateral triangle underneath. We’ll construct Dodecahedron, assuming that we’ve drawn an initial equilateral pentagon. We need to find out the pentagon’s angle of 3d rotation. First, put spheres at points a […]

NURBS surfaces by nature, like four-corner topologies with U and V directions. Şebnem Yalınay Çinici has formulated a tectonic exercise of “Primitive Hut”, which in my point of view is a tough geometric challenge; a subdivision on a real three-corner manifold. That seems very easy at the beginning as both Rhinoceros and Grasshopper are able to create surfaces with three corners, by either lofting, meshing, or edge curve methods. However, those […]