Ben Craven Architecture + Design Portfolio

“Grasshopper is a way for designers to look at design problems as a set of sophisticated relationships and to map those relationships graphically and programmatically into a system that allows them to interactively play with alternatives.” To begin my project I first needed to create a form that I wished to use as my ‘object’ for this I undertook a quick massing study in rhino to create a facade that I wished to produce without the use of traditional construction methods, this led me to a ‘curvy’ design.

 

I used Rhino as the tool to create my initial ‘object’ I could have used grasshopper to create a similar object, however with my more advanced understanding of Rhino I found it quicker to utilise this method. Using grasshopper I was then able to insert my form using a ‘brep’ command, this enabled me then to internalize the data into grasshopper. The aim then was to break the ‘object’ into sections; these sections would then be used to create the structural ribs of my wall and the support for the façade.

 

Once the ‘brep’ was inserted I then created the definition to break the object into sections and then create notches so that the sections/ribs could be slotted together. I also included number slides that could control the number of ribs in the x and y-axis indivicually, this control would enable me to alter the amount of material needed to create structural stability. The third number slider controled the thickness of the sections, this would influence the material I could use and would need to be alter later dependent on available material. Being able to create the design and then alter inputs such as material thickeness at a later stage is a great advantage of using grasshopper, It also means that I can replace the ‘brep’ component and utilise this definition for other objects, projects or materials.

 

Following the successful completion of the rib structure I then wanted to lay the ribs out onto sheets ready for using the laser cutter using grasshopper rather than completing it manually using rhino. I first created two surfaces in rhino that would be the sheets to for the ribs to be laid onto. I then created points on the surfaces that would be the destination for the centre of the ribs. Following the orientation of the ribs onto the surface I aslo wanted to label the ribs so that once they had been cut out I would know which rib when where.