Parametric Design Online Workshop
Parametric Design Online Workshop
Vastu Kala Academy, College of Architecture invites you to participate in a 10-session long online workshop on Parametric Design From 10th February 2024 to 10th March 2024. The workshop shall provide insight into Parametric Design, the inherent logic that constitutes and drives it, and upskill you to practically apply parametric methods in your daily design endeavours. The sessions are scheduled on weekends to provide ease of participation. The workshop will use Rhino, Grasshopper, and four more plugins (see Detailed Schedule) as an aid in design exploration by looking at design as a complex inter-relationship of intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. Using parameters to define geometry marks a fundamental shift in aesthetic value: from the exact ‘repetition’ of elements in traditional design to a varied but ‘similar’ use of elements in parametric design. Based on the variables, options can be explored (as many as mathematically possible), by automating the process of exploration, similar in principle to the rapid doodles developed during the initial conceptual stage.
The workshop shall introduce 6 major topics as follows:
i) Rhino modeling,
ii) Grasshopper scripting,
iii) Parametric facade design,
iv) Solar radiation analysis,
v) Daylight analysis, and
vi) Surface Panelisation.
The technique of Parametric Design marks a paradigm shift where relationships between elements are used to manipulate and inform the design of geometries and structures. The focus shifts from the process of modelling geometry, to the process of defining geometry. Participants will get a first- hand taste of the design workflow of top-ranked universities and practices from around the world. No prior knowledge of the software is required.
Teaching Approach:
Concepts of Parametric Design will be introduced through a slow computing paradigm. Accordingly, the sessions will have two parallel components: a critical inquiry into the theory, and hands-on exercises that will develop a full range of computational techniques. All the exercises have been conceptualised to upskill the participant for practical application of parametric methods in their daily design endeavours. On demonstration of each exercise, time shall be given to the participants to complete the exercise and clear their doubts.
Ease of Attendance:
The workshop has been sliced into 10 x 3-hour topic-wise sessions to facilitate the introduction of the complexities of parametric design in small palatable pieces. The sessions have been scheduled in the evening and on weekends to allow participation in conjunction with professional and/or educational endeavours.
Detailed Schedule:
From 10th February 2024 to 10th March 2024, 7-10 pm.
The 10 sessions shall be conducted online. In case a participant is unable to attend a session, a recording of the session and associated files shall be provided.
| Session | Date | Focus | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 Feb (Sat) | Introduction to Rhino | 2D Drafting + 3D Surfaces |
| 2 | 11 Feb (Sun) | Rhino in Practice | Case study modeling exercises of Designs |
| 3 | 17 Feb (Sat) | Advanced Rhino | Façade + subD clay modeling |
| 4 | 18 Feb (Sun) | Introduction to Grasshopper | Interface + Twisting Tower script |
| 5 | 24 Feb (Sat) | Parametric Façade 1 | Morphing 2D Geometry to generate Façade |
| 6 | 25 Feb (Sun) | Parametric Façade 2 | Morphing 3D Geometry to generate Façade |
| 7 | 2 March (Sat) | Solar Radiation Analysis | Orientation of minimum solar radiation on a building with Ladybug plugin |
| 8 | 3 March (Sun) | Daylight Simulation | Material, shading design, and orientation’s effect on daylight levels with Honeybee plugin |
| 9 | 9 March (Sat) | Physics-based Form-finding | Shell + Tensile structures with Kangaroo plugin |
| 10 | 10 March (Sun) | Surface Panelisation | Triangulation + Set-out drawing with Lunchbox plugin |
Takeaway
Participants are expected to gain the following:
• Get a working knowledge of Rhino, Grasshopper, Ladybug, Honeybee, Kangaroo, and Lunchbox,
• Use geometrical parameters and their inter-relationships to generate simple and complex facade designs,
• Be able to analyse solar radiation cast on a building, and find out the building orientation at which the solar radiation is least,
• Be able to simulate daylight levels, and quantify the effect of change of material, shading design and building orientation on daylight levels,
• Use physics-based logic to simulate shell and tensile structures using only anchor points as input,
• Be able to panelise any complex surface into planar panels that can be constructed usingconventional methods,
• Understand and apply the principles underlying the theory of computation and parametric design in architecture,
• Understand different aspects of computation, and their integration in the design pipeline,
• Be able to iterate through the design concepts, and
• Think critically about the appropriate uses and applications of these architectural tools and skills and critique the use of computation in architecture.
Fees
Early Bird Registration (till 20 Jan 2024):
Students: 19,000 INR
Professionals: 28,500 INR
Regular Registration (from 21 Jan 2024):
Students: 20,000 INR
Professionals: 30,000 INR
About Tutor
The workshop shall be tutored by Ar. Joy Mondal. Joy leads WEsearch Lab which offers computation consultancy to architecture practices in South‐east Asia. He has released Grasshopper plugins to automate column-beam placement (Eelish) and to generate Mondrian-inspired 3D massing (Chingree). His AI-enabled research on the detection of design plagiarism has been awarded the Indian Institute of Architect's (IIA) Excellence in Architecture Award. Joy is a TEDx fellow, presenting ways of democratising architecture for everyone by using graph theory and shape grammar to automate residential design generation, thereby making design service more affordable. He has tutored at multiple international workshops at events hosted by The American University in Cairo, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Architectural Association, London, The University of Sydney and University of Southern California.
Eligibility
• The workshop is open to students of all years.
• The workshop is open to all professionals.
• No prior knowledge of Rhino, Grasshopper, or plugins is needed.
• Participants need to use their own laptops or workstations to participate.
Certification
On completion of participation, the participants will be given certification from Vastu Kala Academy, College of Architecture.
Required Software
Rhino (90-day evaluation) can be downloaded for free here. The download links of the plugins to be used in the workshop shall be shared a week before the workshop begins.
Queries
Email: workshops@vakaarchitecture.com
Call: +91 70111 83525