0:01 All right. So, welcome to the
0:03 introduction to parametric design with
0:06 Grasshopper. This webinar will introduce
0:08 you guys to the fundamental concepts and
0:10 essential skills necessary for
0:12 effectively designing with Grasshopper
0:15 for Rhinoceros 3D. We'll cover concepts
0:19 such as object attributes and
0:21 parameters, data
0:24 types, data structures, and designing
0:27 and thinking with algorithms.
0:29 We'll be sure to leave plenty of time
0:31 during the webinar to discuss some of
0:34 the points um that are a little more
0:35 interesting about recent updates to
0:38 Grasshopper 9 as well as um be able to
0:41 answer any questions um that you guys
0:44 might have come up as we move
0:46 along. So some of the topics again that
0:49 we'll cover is what is parametric design
0:51 and when is it useful? So what are those
0:53 fundamental concepts and essential
0:56 skills necessary to know what's an
0:58 algorithm and how can I use one to
1:01 explore my ideas? So divi defining as
1:04 well as executing parametric design
1:07 solutions and the path to success. How
1:10 do we store and access data? Working
1:11 with lists and data
1:14 trees. And now what? Using Grasshopper
1:17 in my creative workflow, file layout,
1:19 organization, and how to get the most
1:26 modularity. Like to give a special thank
1:29 you um to McNeel and Associates for
1:32 their sponsorship of this free event. Be
1:34 sure to check out their website um up at
1:41 rhino3d.com. I'm Ronnie Parsons and with
1:45 me today is Gil Akos and we are studio
1:48 mode. We are a
1:50 multiddisciplinary design practice based
1:52 in Brooklyn, New
1:56 York that consists of um three
1:59 interrelated sub entities open, lateral
2:02 and design. Open is uh what this
2:04 initiative is all about. It's a shares
2:06 source kind of initiative consisting of
2:09 a web repository for the creative use of
2:11 design technology. A series of monthly
2:14 webinars as well as bimonthly workshops
2:16 which are hosted here in our
2:19 studio. Lateral
2:21 um is a is a a service which offers
2:24 laser and knife CNC cutting services in
2:26 addition to design consultation and
2:29 bespoke parametric tool creation. who
2:31 really try to help u various types of
2:34 artists, designers, architects, etc. uh
2:37 make their ideas into a reality. And
2:39 design is really uh just that. It's our
2:42 own design um work. And at the top
2:44 right, you can see studio mode. Is the
2:54 page. So this is uh Model Lab. Um, and
2:58 here you can see a couple of recent
3:00 workshops that we did um at our studio
3:02 here in uh Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the
3:06 patterning lab as well as the nonlinear
3:11 lab with um Skyler Tibbitz, guest
3:14 instructor. And be sure to uh connect
3:21 facebook.comstudio.mmodelab. If you'd
3:24 like to uh give us a thumbs up or post a
3:25 couple of comments, we'd be more than
3:29 happy to uh uh reply back to you.
3:31 So a couple of issues regarding the uh
3:34 webinar administration
3:35 uh specifically infrastructure regarding
3:38 the webinar is we will be recording and
3:41 distributing this webinar later as a
3:43 series of shorter videos for you uh to
3:45 be able to come back to and reference in
3:48 the future as well as the PDF document
3:49 that we'll be using during today's
3:53 session will be shared um in the coming
3:57 month as a reference uh for you all. You
3:58 should have received an email with a
4:01 link to the webinar source files. These
4:03 files are for your reference. We will be
4:05 using them today. Um, but we will be
4:07 building all of the files from
4:10 scratch. Both Gil and I are connect are
4:12 conducting the webinar simultaneously.
4:15 So I will be presenting and Gil will be
4:17 answering technical questions on the fly
4:20 and redirecting any relevant topical
4:22 questions for me to address to the group
4:24 um as we see multiple people asking the
4:26 same question. So the idea here is that
4:28 we really want to provide a live
4:31 experience for you um as an an attendee
4:34 and uh kind of make it seem more like a
4:42 webinar. So
4:44 Grasshopper Grasshopper is a nodebased
4:47 algorithm editor integrated with Rhino
4:50 3D's modeling tools.
4:52 What it allows you to do is to define
4:55 logical relationships between multiple
4:57 design parameters that define a
5:00 parametric model. Here at the bottom
5:03 right, you can see in icon format what
5:05 that kind of parametric model might look
5:08 like. A couple of nodes connected to
5:11 another object using something which we
5:21 Now a parametric model then is really a
5:23 model wherein the parts of a design
5:27 relate and change in a coordinated way
5:29 as as defined by the various parameters
5:38 This is kind of the typical parametric
5:41 uh model where you might see a couple of
5:44 shapes connected to form a loft and then
5:46 sections for instance to be able to
5:48 represent that parametric relationship
5:51 in a slightly different
5:54 way. Now if we bounce over to
5:56 Rhino, one of the first things you're
5:58 going to need to do is type in Grasshopper.
6:06 When you do that, Grasshopper will
6:09 open. And down here at the bottom,
6:11 you'll want to double check that you are
6:20 9.0012. You can also get to that by
6:23 going to help and
6:34 Now, back to parametric modeling for a
6:36 moment. When we're talking about a
6:37 parametric model, what we're really
6:40 talking about are parameters. And in the
6:42 most general sense, a parameter is a
6:44 factor that helps to define the overall
6:53 system. Here we can see two instances or
6:57 states of a parametric model where the
6:59 differing shapes are really a byproduct
7:01 of changes in the parameters which
7:03 define the overall
7:06 form. You might notice some of the
7:10 values are rendered here in green or red
7:13 rather and blue showing which are
7:16 actually shared across multiple inputs.
7:20 A change for instance to the value in
7:23 R1 would result in a very different kind
7:26 of effect when the circle scales up
7:34 edges. You zoom in a little bit closer.
7:35 You might be able to see that there are
7:37 a few more relationships here or
7:39 something called constraints that are
7:41 really important to the way in which
7:44 this model is constructed. For instance,
7:46 you may notice that there's a 120 degree
7:49 angular constraint which is governing
7:53 where the major uh axes for geometry
8:04 model. So working
8:07 parametrically is a very interesting way
8:10 to begin to think about design.
8:12 One of the things that is really
8:13 important to understand as we begin to
8:15 move into a parametric modeling
8:19 environment is how to understand how data
8:20 data
8:23 flows. Now, when we're creating things
8:25 in a parametric environment, we're not
8:28 only defining objects as geometry, but
8:31 also as data. So we'll be sure to focus
8:33 on how that works and how you can begin
8:36 to tackle design processes by thinking
8:39 through how the data might flow in the
8:43 model. A second issue to think about as
8:45 we begin to move into a parametric
8:48 environment is that any problem can
8:50 really be broken down into a series of
8:52 very manageable parts. So, we're going
8:55 to have to think before we even start
8:58 how to divide our problem into a series
9:00 of parts that we can begin to execute
9:01 step by
9:04 step. Working parametrically also
9:06 requires you to begin to think a little
9:08 bit more abstractly about
9:12 things as well as beginning to think
9:14 mathematically. And lastly, to begin to
9:17 think about design through an
9:20 algorithmic approach. Here at the bottom
9:21 left you can see something which is
9:25 referred to as a driver diagram. It's
9:28 also referred to as a law curve diagram.
9:30 But essentially what it is is a
9:33 two-dimensional drawing which represents
9:36 the various types of geometrical
9:39 constraints in place in a parametric
9:41 model. To the right you'll notice that
9:45 there are a series of variations on what
9:47 the output of this parametric model
9:49 might be.
9:51 Each one of those states as they're
9:54 referred to as is really a byproduct of
9:56 just a change in the diagram that we see
10:05 left. So thinking
10:07 algorithmically well let's talk about an
10:10 algorithm for a moment. Now an algorithm
10:12 is really just a set of rules that
10:14 precisely defines a sequence of operations.
10:16 operations. For
10:17 For
10:20 instance, as we're beginning to develop
10:23 something like a law curve diagram or a driver
10:24 driver
10:26 diagram here, we might think about what
10:28 are the various steps that we might need
10:31 to take in order to be able to draw the
10:33 ultimate outline curve that we see
10:41 As we begin to take the next step and
10:42 think about how that curve might be
10:45 displaced in Z, we might have another
10:49 rule that defines what parameters
10:51 change. Those changes are reflected here
10:54 in the lofted surface and then in the
10:57 contoured floor plate model that we see
11:05 So a few things to remember that are
11:08 really critical to parametric design is
11:10 that the parameters of a particular
11:13 design are what are being declared not its
11:14 its
11:16 shape. Now that's a pretty big
11:18 difference between the way in which more
11:22 traditional modes of design development
11:25 might occur. For instance, in your
11:27 sketchbook, you might begin to sketch
11:30 out what something might look like, right?
11:31 right?
11:34 But in a parametric model, the process
11:37 is very explicit. So not only what it
11:40 will look like is important, but what
11:42 are the relationships that govern what
11:45 it might look like. Now, because the
11:47 process is explicit, you really have to
11:49 have an idea about where you're going as
11:51 well as how you might get there before
11:54 you even begin modeling. So having a
11:56 very good understanding and a strong
11:58 foundation in what the various parts of
12:01 an object like
12:04 geometry might be will afford you a lot
12:06 more possibilities before you begin to
12:08 parametrically or uh before you begin to
12:11 parametric model. So for instance
12:15 understanding how a curve like a circle is
12:16 is
12:18 constructed will ensure that you know
12:20 how to begin to draw the circle once
12:27 Now the various inputs
12:30 processing as well as the desired
12:33 results in this planning process are
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