WELCOME: 2014

Project 2 Parametric Modeling Design

Mission In this project, I’d like to focus on the parametric facade, which is related to my studio project. I wanna create a triangular pattern by using weavebird’s sierpinski node, as well as some controllable open triangle shading devices, inspired by an example shared on the grasshopper website.

Here is the rendering image of the facade.

Project Background

The site locates in the Museum District in the center of Houston. My project values the conversation between MFA, churchs and mine. Thus, after site analysis, triangular form is designed to be the main element

For the main exhibition hall, to the northwest , pieces of triangular metal panels are imagined to be the shading facade.

Parametric Facade

Let's see how the facade works in GH.

Step 1

Import SK model into Rhino and use wbedges to extract the mesh edge to tell the boundary of the facade

Step 2

Define and draw the boundary of the facade. As the trapezoid can't be made up by repeated triangles, boundary is drew as parallelogram for shaping similar triangle patterns later.

Step 3

Create sierpinski pattern for the facade. Use wbsierpinski node as well as wbtriangles to subdivide the surface into several sierpinski triangles.

Step 4

Pipe the structure

Step 5

Create the shading device. Certain large triangular opening is designed to attach a controllable shading device. Get the corner points of each triangle.

Step 6

Group every three corner points

Step 7

Get the central point of each triangle that need to attach the shading device

Pick out one typical triangle and create a vector perpendicular to it as the translation for the central points

Step 8

Extrude three triangle sides into the moved central point to separately form three fins of the device

Step 9

Rotate the fins by control the rotating angle

Step 10

Extrude pattern mesh and cap to form a closed brep as the metal panel

Step 11

Create another brep to cut the exceeded panel

Step 12

Bake the GH model at the end. Here we are!

Project Description --- “Main Station Stuttgart”

Yingzi Zhang

The project is based on the Main Station Stuttgart. It is a continuous shell roof covers the whole underground space, everywhere admitting natural light and ventilation via the chalice eyes. There are two kind of “eyes”. One is the entrance of the station and the other one is the light-scoop eye, lighting the station hall below. And the modeling of them is pretty similar, so, I will mainly focus on the modeling progress of the main entrance.

As starting modeling, I divided the entrance into two parts: the dome and the main vertical circulation.

For the dome part, the basic idea is to anchor the edge of a elliptic mesh and utilize the Uforce and Kangaroo component to make it deform under the gravity force to give a form in pure tension. Then trim the semi-sphere dome by an ellipsoid to create the entrance.

For the vertical circulation part, create a curve whose end points separately located on two parallel elliptic curves, and then sweep it along them. The curve is defined by the math equation, y³=ax. Since it's a tunnel for circulation, another similar surface is created adjacent to it and the tunnel is cut out by the intersection.
original size picture sharing link