Intricate Data Modelling – Gh lvl 1

“ Intricate Data Modelling – Gh lvl. 1 ” is a 2-day (16-hour) entry level Grasshopper marathon workshop, dealing with design by data protocols. In this workshop, we are focusing in data-driven design and advanced mesh modeling techniques, to create elaborate, intricate models both for form finding as well as for analysis and fabrication. During the course of this class, you’ll learn and comprehend the fundamentals of visual programming with Grasshopper3d, and move quickly from simple data structure management to complex generative modelling.

This 2 days event is designed for everyone who is interested in gaining basic computational design skills, with a focus on design analysis and optimisation, for the purposes of digital fabrication. During these days, you will be introduced to process-oriented design, you will gain access to a wide range of form-finding tools and techniques and you will learn ways of preparing your ideas for prototyping and fabrication.

Course Outline

In this training course (Subdivision Strategies II – Gh lvl. 1) you will learn to create and edit grasshopper definitions and get acquainted with parametric modeling. This fast-moving class deals with most of Grasshopper’s core functionality, ranging from curve editing and data-tree manipulations to logical gates.

The duration of the course is 16 hours. The course is intensive and spans two consecutive days of basic grasshopper training (10:00 to 19:00, with a 1 hour lunch-break at 15:00). A third optional day of design experimentation and more advanced extracurricular tutorials will follow, free of charge for the participants of the workshop. Taking into consideration the measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, the workshop will take a hybrid form, allowing both for remote participation as well as physical presence. The choise of the method of participation remains at the students’ discretion.

Structure

In this class (Subdivision Strategies II – Gh lvl. 1), you will systematically move through the user interface, command access, creation and editing of curves, surfaces and solids, through computational methods. Information will be presented at an accelerated pace.

Expected Outcomes

After this course students are expected to be able to:

• Create parametric models
• Understand algorithmic design principles
• Utilise basic parametric tools, such as attractors and morphing
• Produce custom grasshopper definitions, according to their design intent
• Prepare 3d models for fabrication with 3d-printing and cnc cutting technologies

Curriculum

At decode™ we believe effective training needs an intriguing goal instead of generic exercises. Most of the tutorials will be presented as part of a design process, in which we will be doing structural analysis and redesigning well-acclaimed architectural projects, as well as creating new objects from scratch. In this way each student will be guided through the process of completing a set of challenging and interesting design projects, leading up to the final design goal.

During the 16-hour course, the following concepts will be covered:

• Acquaintance with the Grasshopper3d interface
• Various ways of data input and output of Grasshopper
• Operators

• Analysis of geometry and parameter extraction
• Data trees and lists management
• Boolean operations and conditionals

• Basic functions for the dynamic generation and manipulation of geometry
• Transformations, population and morphing
• Pattern generation
• Attractors & Vector fields
• Triangulation algorithms
• Quad planarization
• Unrolling, nesting and tagging for fabrication.

Pre-requisites

Requires Windows skills and desire to create. Previous rhino3d modeling experience is deemed greatly helpful but not required. A general understanding of basic mathematical principles is also considered helpful, but an explanatory lecture will be given where needed.

All participants are required to have:

• Their personal laptop with them. Additional NUC computers can be provided after timely communication.
• Rhinoceros3d 6 pre-installed. You can download a 90-days evaluation version from http://www.rhino3d.com/download
• Lots of patience and positive thinking, learning is fun after all!