#data-flow

Here is an interesting phrase from Jill Larkin and Herbert Simon’s famous article. It is “Why A Diagram (Sometimes) Worth Ten Thousand Words”; The phrase from the article My Thoughts on “A Diagram…” While perusing this text, I found myself curious about the correlation between “formal languages,” “algorithmic architecture,” “scripting,” and “problem-solving” and why we teach them together. The introduction to these subjects occurred during my enrollment in the Shape Grammars graduate course. Over the past decade, a fascinating re-connection…

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…

Basic Design Studio at Bilgi University is coming to semester’s big final. Nowadays, students are trying to build their final projects. Oğuz and Gupse’s group has a truss structure with nearly 800 segments. They attempt to build it by taking length values from their own Rhino model by hand. And this itself had brought a difficulty, because one person of the group should be assigned only to do this measurement, reducing their workforce. They asked me if there is an…

Today, there are pedagogical and practical challenges on the use of algorithms in architectural design, as computer puts not only a physical but also a cognitive layer between designer and the subject. Formulation of this cognitive layer is becoming important, regarding which model of computing is used to connect designer with the subject. Is it a “designerly” search, or design exploration in a visual programming environment? As most of the researchers admit that visual programming environments are very effective in generating variations,…

Today, we’ve studied fundamentals of component-based design methods. Using curves and surfaces as starting points, we’ve experienced ways of translating those entities via design criteria based on our purposes. First, a curve is used to construct a leaf structure. We’ve experienced dispatching data lists and combining them back together. Subdividing curves into points created further entities such as vectors and planes. We used those entities as inputs of regular drawing and modeling commands such as rectangles, or planar surfaces. This…

Today’s subject was closely related to the one last week; the data list and data tree management. Creating suitable data structures for our purposes is one of the tricky parts of whole Grasshopper experiments. We’ve developed a grid of objects, somehow associated with another one (a curve). Strong emphasis was on the way of thinking, getting back and forth on the process, and the re-definition of data lists. Especially, this in-class exercise would help you understand basic design techniques in…

Here is a funny sketching system for the “SPEC” homework. Four (or more) points are created using 2d sliders (MD slider) and decomposed these points into x,y and z numbers. Then, they are re-populated in 3d points by changing their plane. X coordinates are connected into Y, and Y coordinates are connected to Z’s. Tricky part comes then, the X number is defined by a serie of numbers started from 0 to 30 by 1. After that, polylines are constructed using…

Today, we’ve studied ways of representing multiple data structures in Grasshopper at ARCH 362. As of our last week’s experience, sometimes (most of the time actually) we’ll need to work with vast amount of data. We’ll have to control them in order to open door for further explorations. Today’s exercise was a good example of this “sustainable” process of data management. All functionality of Grasshopper is based on data matching. From short-list, long-list matching, to the structures of data trees….

In this experiment, I’m trying to use data recorder to change components on a surface. The component part is a standart triangular construction, but the attractor points are defined by a 2D slider that is connected to a data recorder. Data recorder remembers last 15 points, while you move the 2d slider, last 15 points are projected on the base surface. This creates an illusion as if a “snake” game on a surface. Definition then uses the closes point distance…