es has guided me in a - what I once thought - specific path within architecture, but recent discoveries (like the Grasshopper-community etc.) have learned me that the field of digital and parametric architecture is so-to-speak alive and kicking. This is also the main subject I would like to write my thesis about. It is however mainly the subject and defining its boundaries – what do I really want to explore and research? – which is the most difficult factor at this time.
A concrete idea is non-existant, and my current visions will probably be redirected when I have a first meeting with the promotors in February. Moreover there is the knowledge that it is impossible to make a thesis at the institute in Antwerp on no matter what subject in the world of digital architecture. Understandably too, it’s a small world and does not always result in realised projects, but in impressive imagery. At this moment however, I am thinking of two possible research fields to focus on.
In a first option the focus might lie on how digital design tools can be used to bring a certain aspect of interactivity to building facades. Such interactivity can occur both in the design phase and throughout the use of the building. The first scenario, in which the interactivity occurs when designing, I would focus on how the designer can shape a building’s outer perspective in function of environmental parameters: obstacles, elements that block sunlight from entering the building, visually important landmarks, etc. It should be noted however that focus will mostly lie on the design element, and less on the energy-efficiency and sustainability. Tools that will be researched would include Grasshopper, Rhino Scripting, Processing and ParaCloud.
A second possible approach could be categorized under both Swarm Intelligence and Generative Design and might study how the aforementioned digital techniques might be implemented in the new urbanism. We notably see more (innovative) interventions in which the design and planning is heavily influenced by movement patterns and morphogenetic parameters and functions. Based on the outcome of these scripted techniques, designers tend to work towards a proposal which answers a certain urbanistic issue.
All additional insights, guidelines, tips, comments are more than welcome in order to help me define the scope of my thesis subject. I must admit I am pretty new to this digital design world (it is not actively promoted at my home university, but it is promoted at the university where I am studying for one year now) and thus have limited experience at the time of writing.
Please also feel free to check out the blog post concerning this topic, which is a little more elaborate: http://nielswouters.be/thesis-digital-design-english/
Thanks for all your help!
…
what they really mean by that, as in what buttons to push, so I assume it's a Windows Path entry?
2.) Modify PATH
Add the install location on the path, this is usually: C:\Program File\IronPython 2.7
But on 64-bit Windows systems it is: C:\Program File (x86)\IronPython 2.7
As a check, open a Windows command prompt and go to a directory (which is not the above) and type:
> ipy -V PythonContext 2.7.0.40 on .NET 4.0.30319.225
Tutorial on setting a Windows environmental variable (path):
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000549.htm
But this fails to point out that path contains many entries already separated by semicolons so if I merely add a new variable called "path" it's likely that I will destroy existing program function. There's no info on how to just tack on another entry, and the Windows 7 edit box doesn't even show the whole collection, but one item (!), so I copied the existing path into a text editor to see the whole collection successfully and added the C:\Program Files (x86)\IronPython 2.7 entry after an added semicolon, correcting for an Enthought page typo of no 's' on the end of "Program Files". I also checked the others and many pointed to old missing directories so I deleted those entries.
...and the test fails and "ipy" is not recognized as a command, even though the path now shows up using "path" in the Windows CMD window, that is if I copy all by right clicking and pasting the stuff into a text editor to really view it all. I can run it from the source directory just fine.
The rabbit hole was indeed deep. Using the Task Manager (control-alt-delete) to kill Explorer and then Run in the menu to restart "Explorer," along with restarting the Windows CMD window however, worked. I can now invoke Iron Python ("ipy") via command line from any directory. For the "path" I edited path in the System Variables and not the User Variables. No, you don't have to type that whole crazy line above just to test the path variable, just "ipy" (and control-Z to quite IronPython) in the CMD window invoked by typing "cmd" into the Start menu search box.
From the CMD line this step did work fine:
3.) ironpkg
Bootstrap ironpkg, which is a package install manager for binary (egg based) Python packages. Download ironpkg-1.0.0.py and type:
> ipy ironpkg-1.0.0.py --install
Now the ironpkg command should be available:
> ironpkg -h(some useful help text is displayed here)
But of course Step 4 fails, giving pages of what seem to be error messages;
C:\Users\Nik>ironpkg scipy
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Program Files (x86)\IronPython 2.7\lib\site-packages\enstaller\utils.
py", line 92, in write_data_from_url
File "C:\Program Files (x86)\IronPython 2.7\Lib\urllib2.py", line 126, in urlo
pen
File "C:\Program Files (x86)\IronPython 2.7\Lib\urllib2.py", line 397, in open
File "C:\Program Files (x86)\IronPython 2.7\Lib\urllib2.py", line 509, in http
_response
...
Why can't I just download Numpy as a normal file and thus also have it easy for other users to install it when they use my scripts? This is just crazy and lazy. The Enthought developer has turned this into a computer game, with a missing registration link and then the last step spits out errors with utterly no information on how to fix it manually.
This Step 4 error is covered here:
http://discourse.mcneel.com/t/trying-to-import-numpy-in-rhino-python-but-im-getting-this-error-cannot-import-multiarray-from-numpy-core/12912/16…
Added by Nik Willmore at 2:36pm on October 11, 2015
y in English. ○Presenter
Robert (Bob) McNeel (McNeel & Associates founder) Robert (Bob) McNeel is the founder and president of Robert McNeel & Associates (RMA). Founded in 1978, RMA originally focused on developing accounting software for accounting, architecture, engineering, and other personal services firms. Within a few years, RMA expanded its services to include selling and supporting microprocessor-based engineering and design software including AutoCAD. By 1985, the main focus of the business had shifted to AutoCAD sales, service, training, and software development. Bob McNeel grew up in the mountains of southern Washington State on a subsistence dairy farm. To pay for college, he worked in construction as a carpenter, welder, and cement finisher. Bob has a BA in Accounting from Washington State University. Prior to founding McNeel & Associates, he was a practicing Certified Public Accountant and the comptroller for a large construction company in Spokane. Andrés González (Rhino Fablab director) Andrés is a software trainer and developer since the 1980s. He has developed applications for diverse design markets as well as training materials for different CAD and Design software including the community of training materialswww.Rhino3D.TV Andrés has been working with the Rhino Team since the very early stages. He is now the head of the McNeel Southeast US & Latin American Division. He is the worldwide director of the digital fabrication community called RhinoFabLabwww.RhinoFabLab.com as well as the Generative Jewelry & Fashion Design community GJD3D www.GJD3d.com and Generative Furniture Design community GFD3D www.GFD3d.com 1981 -1985 University of North Carolina at Charlotte N.C. - EE.UU. B.S., Bachelor of Science in Engineering
…
Added by Yusuke Oono at 9:28pm on October 16, 2013
the post.
10 days ago was the 4th anniversary of the release of the first version of Ladybug and as the title says, I wanted to share with you what 2017 entails for Ladybug Analysis Tools (previously known as Ladybug + Honeybee).
In December 20016 at the AEC Tech Hackathon, I gave a presentation which pretty much covers all I need to write here. I’m copying the links to the videos so you can watch them and I will just highlight the most important topics. Here are the slides that I used for this presentation.
The first major release of 2017 is a new version of the original Ladybug + Honeybee plugins, which will hereafter be referred to as the legacy version of Ladybug Analysis Tools. Now that the plugins have been fully connected to the major open source engines and databases, the majority of changes represent “icing on the cake.” There are a number of new components related to maximizing the visual capabilities of Rhino, including contour map visualizations, components to make rendered animations, texture mapping components for transparent meshes (and connections to VR programs), and stereographic sky projections. Furthermore, the last of the thermal comfort models for local discomfort (drafts and radiant asymmetry) have been incorporated along with components that help calculate discomfort from given geometric and thermal criteria (a simplified downdraft model and a view factor component). There have been a few extensions of OpenStudio/E+ capabilities to get out HVAC system sizing results and to request/search through the hundreds of outputs that E+ offers. Finally, there are a few workflow improvements, including changes to use less memory when building large energy models and a workflow to import HBZones from gbXML. Chris has been leading the development for the legacy version during the last year or so and he deserves all the credits. There is no way to thank him enough for what he does on a daily basis. I can only say that we are all so lucky to have him around!
After the release of the legacy plugin, the next major release of 2017 will be the public release of Butterfly, which is already long overdue. If you are watching the project on GitHub, you should already know that we are very close and are trying to make the final improvements before the release. The release will have its own separate release notes. For now, I want to thank Theodore Galanos and everyone who helped us with their suggestions during the development process. There would be no Butterfly if it wasn’t for Theodore.
Butterfly’s release will be followed by the release of Honeybee[+]. The first release of Honeybee[+] supports most of the functionalities in the current version of Honeybee for daylight simulation plus it addresses many of the current limitations for annual daylight modeling by using Radiance 3-phase method. It should also support Grasshopper both on Windows and Mac as well as Dynamo. There is much more about Honeybee[+] which again will be included in a separate post. I want to thank Sarith Subramaniam and everyone who helped us with testing the code during the development. Honeybee[+] won’t have most of its features if it wasn’t for Sarith.
I also want to thank everyone on the forum who helps other users with questions and solutions. That’s how I and the rest of the developers get the time to focus on the new developments. Yet I didn’t get a chance to update the graph for this year but you know who you are. Thank you!
Finally, I am posting a modified draft from last year February. Chris and I drafted this post last year but never posted it as I was waiting for the “right time” to post it. The “right time” would be when we have free time to answer all the questions but that time seems not to come! We will do our best to reply to your comments as much as we can. Here is that post:
----
Even though we receive comments and ideas from many of you on a daily basis Tim's recent comment [it was recent at the time!] made me think that we should, once more, explicitly ask for your comments while developing the new version of Ladybug (and at some point Honeybee), and also collect the ongoing ones in a single place.
So post your comments, suggestions and wishes here and let us know what can we do to make Ladybug and Honeybee better. Any type of comments are welcome as far as you tell us why you think it is important. Here are a couple of questions to get you started:
- What is currently missing? Why do you think that missing feature is important?
- If you could only change one thing, what would it be and why?
- What do you like the most about Ladybug + Honeybee that you don't want to change in the new release?
- What kind of bottlenecks do you run into? - What have you done with Ladybug + Honeybee that you think it should/could have been done much simpler if we could have made a couple of changes?
- What do you think will be essential/missing from Ladybug for Dynamo?
- ...
Your turn! Let us know your thoughts!
…
DP ($$$ aside), GC, and Grasshopper. Arthur’s original question is very important
and the exact question (and hopefully answer) I was hoping to find on a
forum.
“How to take intelligent 3D parametric generative design models (scripting, etc.) into 2D documents?" Or, deliver the 3D design for evaluation, bid, construction, etc.
I am intrigued by Jon’s comments in the same thread and would like to know how I can learn more about the process (and
pitfalls) of turning over a 3D digital generative models to a contractor/fabricator.
Are there any industry guidelines established I could use as a reference to guide our firm through this type of uncharted territory?
Arthur’s question is very reminiscent of 10 years ago when I was frustrated with the amount of time spent on the development of a 3D model design (physical and/or virtual) only to have to wipe the table clean and start the process all over again in 2D in order to document the project for delivery. From this I jumped head first into BIM and Revit, vowing never to go back to unintelligent 2D line work. I am now working on Bentley software (v8i: Microstation and Bentley Architecture) with the access and desire to venture into Generative Components. I am very intrigued by Rhino/Grasshopper primarily with the apparent ease of use and available resources assisting in the learning process – something not really available with Bentley.
In hindsight, as I am doing my software research I think the current use of Revit and BA (Bentley Architecture) are more of a “bridge”
between the past (decades of digital 2D work, i.e. AutoCAD) and where hopefully
we all will be someday in the near future (100% 3D modeling, i.e. Digital
Project??). Without having the experience
it would appear that DP/CATIA (PLM software) are closer to this than any other
type of software. As complicated as the
industry standards are for the automobile and airline industry, I feel we
(architectural industry and others) are heading in a similar direction with
total understanding (PLM/ Evidence Based Design) of a design (a whole other topic). If anything I think the market will begin to
demand it sooner or later.
Gehry (DP) article NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/business/11gehry.html
I know these type of broad discussions (software vs. software) can be blown out of proportion on forums, but I am would like to read
the pulse of those who are already in the trenches (using Grasshopper, CATIA, Digital Project, Generative Components, others??) and hear your thoughts. Just as valuable would be other threads,
industry articles/reviews of 3D parametric generative design software.
Thanks,
Boyd…
ting at multiple geometries in the same location. I simply sorted the list of values and used the Delete Consecutive component. This potentially rearranges the order of values but I don't think that matters in your case. I also threw in an Int component which actually seems to make a difference (try sidestepping it and you will see!).
2-I flattened the output of the mesh component before sending it to union. This ensures that the original mesh is booleaned once with all the components rather than individually with each of the 86 components.
Is this what the result should look like?
One suggestion for future postings: when referencing geometry in rhino, it often helps if you attach your rhino file as well so people don't have to guess where you are starting from.
If you have further questions, just ask ;-)
cbass…