Digital Provocations symposium, April 12-14

Digital Provocations

University of Minnesota, College of Design

Minneapolis, MN

April 12-14, 2012

A symposium on the role of digital technologies in architectural education and practice.

How can the profession of architecture evolve and adapt to a constantly shifting technological landscape?

How can architecture schools take on a more proactive leadership role within the discipline?

How can they develop curricular initiatives that fully engage with the dramatic transformations occurring in practice?

This three-day symposium will pose these questions and explore alternative professional and curricular approaches to incorporating digital technologies in architectural design. Invited participants active in both practice and academia will present case studies demonstrating innovative use of digital technology in realms of design, collaboration, fabrication, and construction.

Visit the Digital Provocations site or contact Adam Marcus for additional information.

Details...

Bucky Fuller lives again

Goetz Composites are known for building race boats, including the America's Cup boats. Now they have applied their expertise to renovating Buckminster Fuller's Fly's Eye Dome. This 24-foot-wide fiberglass dome was a prototype for prefabricated housing and the last project Buckminster Fuller worked on.

The neglected 40-year-old dome was chipped and covered with mold and peeling paint. Where corners were missing, Goetz Composites had to cast new fiberglass pieces and shape by hand to match the original. In the process, the Buckminster Fuller Institute ended up with an accurate Rhino rendering of the as-built pieces. These can be used to create new CNC-milled molds if the Institute wants to replicate a piece.

The restored dome will be permanently installed in the Miami Design District.

Details on the project in A/N Blog . . . 

Processing + Grasshopper workshop in Barcelona

Processing Jam #2 Barcelona will be held March 2-3, 2012 in Espai Erre.  Organized by welovecode, this Jam session will be organized into four modules exploring the power of processing in concert with various protocols and applications. 

One module, led by Luis E. Fraguada will focus on the communication between processing and Grasshopper using the various protocols available through the gHowl add-on for Grasshopper.

The four modules include:

• Processing + Grasshopper: Luis E. Fraguada (Barcelona) - program
• Processing + OSC: Alba Corral (Barcelona)
• Processing + Shypon: Miguel Espada (Madrid) - program
• OpenFrameworks + Kinect: Carles Gutierrez (Barcelona) - program

For registration, please email: hola@welovecode.net

News from food4Rhino - February 2012

Recently happened on
These are new Rhino plugins and Grasshopper add-ons:

	LunchBox LunchBox is a plugin for Grasshopper for exploring mathematical shapes, paneling, structures, and workflow. 2012-Feb-23
	Quokka Quokka is a software tool for connecting Microsoft Kinect with Grasshopper in Rhino. Quokka gives the ability to use the Kinect as a 3D scanner. 2012-Feb-06

Updates:

	WeaverBird 0.5.18 Hotfix Branch values in wbEdges in case of several input meshes were incorrect. This is fixed. It is now possible to input a per-edge distance. 2012-Feb-27
	KUKA|prc New kinematic simulation of multiple robots, compatibility with the new KUKA KRC4 control unit, customizable end-effector geometry, reachability analysis, axis limits, etc. 2012-Feb-26
	Ring Wizard by Cadwax V3.65 New features: Automatic Pave, Millgrain, Rope, Split Shank, Kitco Weight Calculator. 2012-Feb-26
	VisualARQ 1.5 for Rhino See some of the VisualARQ main features through their videos. 2012-Feb-13
	Elk 0.2 This release adds a Generic OSM component. This allows you to select any data from the OSM file to generate points. 2012-Feb-05
	Hoopsnake 0.6.3 HoopSnake creates a copy of the data it receives as its inputs upon user request and stores it locally. 2012-Feb-03
	SpiderWeb 2.3 New release with randomized Sequential Graph Coloring. Will stop after n iterations or if the achieved coloring is equal or less than the aimed coloring. 2012-Feb-03
	EvoluteTools Lite for Rhino EvoluteTools Lite is now a free Rhino plugin for intuitive design of panelizations using multiresolution mesh modeling and mesh optimization. 2012-Jan-30

In 2S pace 2012 workshop BCN review and photos

In 2S pace – International Workshop (Feb 3-14, 2012)
A 12 Days Intensive Architectural Workshop By MAG LAB, BCN – Spain

The "In 2S pace" workshop, organized by MAG LAB, took place at the UIC Barcelona on 3-14 February.

The workshop provided participants to discover this beautiful city with a professional vision about its architecture and culture. From the program kick-off, the multicultural active framework facilitated live learning through site visits to of the most important Architects, universities and designers experience.

The workshop explored how a digital and technologies view of design could be implemented in a real scale built product.

The participants learned how to prepare their designs to be fabricated by using laser cutter, CNC and related technologies and how the awareness of the fabrication process should affect their design process from the early beginning.

Workshop blog...

MAG LAB Facebook page...

MediodesignTALKS #2: Network-Driven Architecture

MediodesignTALKS #2: Network-Driven Architecture, by Arthur Mani
Friday 9th March 2012 at 7pm
MedioDesign, Barcelona (Spain)

Following the talks series at MedioDesign (Authorized RhinoFabLab), Architect Arthur Mani (AA, Westminster University, SimplyRhino UK) will talk about his teaching experience through his research activity at WeWantToLearn.net group, several projects at Proctor & Mattews Architects and his more recent projects at his own studio (Grasshopper, Processing, 3D printing…).

Complete details and free registration...

Development of Innovative Construction Systems with Glued Laminated Timber and Glass

AIDIMA (Wood, Furniture and Packaging Technology Institute) is a non-profit making organization, active throughout Spain. AIDIMA provides innovative solutions for the Spanish forestry, wood, and furniture sector by researching and by transferring knowledge gained through their research efforts and experience.

With the collaboration of the architects Manuel García Barbero and Kiyanshid Hedjri (Klimark) and others in various fields, this Institute has been working in research projects related to timber structures and parametric architecture, such as “Development of Supporting Structures based on Technical Timber and Laminated Glass” and “Development of Innovative Construction Systems with Glued Laminated Timber and Glass”. The Coordinator and Technical Manager of these projects has been Miguel Ángel Abián, Head of the Wood Technology and Biotechnology Department at AIDIMA. He was awarded a Schweighofer Innovation Prize in 2009.

One of the aims of this project has been the development of an industrial and modular construction system for free forms with glued laminated timber and glass. To achieve this aim, software products such as Rhino for form-shaping and EvoluteTools for the tessellation of free forms have been used.

This research has been performed in the framework of the Project "Development of Mixed Construction Systems with Glued Laminated Timber and Glass for Light Roof Structures" ("Desarrollo de sistemas constructivos mixtos de madera laminada encolada y vidrio para estructuras ligeras de cubierta"), funded by IMPIVA (Valencian Institute of Small and Medium-Sized Industry) and co-funded by FEDER funds from the European Union.

Watch a video here...

PDF here (in Spanish)...

Orca3D new release version 1.2.3

DRS Defense Solutions, AMTC announces the release of a new version of Orca3D. This new version (1.2.3), a free update to users, contains new features, feature improvements, and bug fixes. If you have been following the Work-in-Progress (WIP) process, you're already aware of many of them. Some highlights include: 

• Native support for 64-bit and 32-bit Rhino 5, as well as Rhino 4
• Optional Network Licensing
• OrcaInsertNet and OrcaRemoveNet commands to add or remove control net rows or columns while maintaining topology
• Improved Hull Assistant controls and user-definable section locations in Hull Assistants
• Hull Assistant for Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs)
• Export to ORC offset files
• Optional pre-float check can be run before hydrostatics are calculated, in order to review the model for errors
• Realtime sectional area curve display as the model is edited
• New OrcaStraightenPoints command to straighten groups of control points into a line, or the projection of a line
• Import/Export Stock Material Property files
• Support for blocks in Weight/Cost
• CSV output for resistance predictions
• Customization of report formats  

 

Buy Orca3D...

Download Orca3D Version 1.2.3...

Post a question to the Orca3D Forum... 

Seminar in Aveiro (Portugal): Rhino in Architecture and Engineering

Rhino3DPortugal, in cooperation with the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Aveiro (DECivil UA) and Unave (Association for research and training of the University of Aveiro), is promoting a seminar about Rhino, Architecture - Engineering - Design Advanced Modeling Tools, that will be held on the 29 February, 3:15 pm,  at the University of Aveiro, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auditorium 22.3.2. Free entrance limited to the available seats.

Cadwax Ring Wizard V 3.6

Cadwax Ring Wizard V 3.6 has been released.

This build is more stable and also includes a new pave tool to help hand place gemstones onto a surface.

Details and download...

Royal RhinoTerrain

At the recent Imagina trade show in Monaco, Claude Vuattoux (RhinoTerrain SARL CEO) had a big success presenting the new version of RhinoTerrain and the upcoming RhinoCity plug-in.

As the City of Monaco is one of the biggest customers of RhinoTerrain/RhinoCity, even Albert II, Prince of Monaco, was interested in learning more about the product.

RhinoCity will be released shortly after Rhino 5. It provides a set of tools for automatic texturing and creation of virtual cities from photogrammetry data (ESRI geodata, CityGML import/export...). It manages global geographical coordinate system (EPSG code). Automatic facades and roof buildings texturing is achieved with the use of vertical or oblique flight imagery and its aerotriangulation (Vexcel, Intergraph DMC, CityGml).

Click on the images to see them bigger...

RhinoGold 3.0 SR4 available

RhinoGold 3.0 SR4 has been released. This is a free service release for existing users and there's also a new eval.

Details and download...

RhinoNest for Grasshopper 0.4 announced

Optimize position and orientation of objects

TDM Solutions announces RhinoNest for Grasshopper 0.4.

Features include:

• Multisheet: Nesting with multi-sheet support.
• Nesting Report: New control to create a report.
• Douglas-Peucker: New control to reduce polyline using Douglas-Peucker algorithm.
• Supports Grasshopper 0.8.0066, 32-bit and 64-bit native.

See RhinoNest for Grasshopper 0.4 video...

Details and to download...

Uformia releases Symvol for Rhino

Symvol™ for Rhino - Community is a volumetric modeling system plugin. The user can think of clay or metal when working with Symvol. It means a volume is a piece of malleable material, not a collection of paper sheets glued together, as an equivalent analogy to existing modeling systems. Whatever is done during modeling, the volume created is always a valid solid object, unlike in traditional solid modeling, where objects can have cracks and other surface issues.

Symvol is useful for:

• 3D printing and digital fabrication

• Teaching the basics of modeling

• Rapid customization of designs and models

• Modeling of organic and fluid objects

• Jewelry design and fabrication

Buy Symvol for Rhino - Community...

Symvol videos...

EvoluteTools PRO workshop in London

Paneling and geometry optimization of freeform envelopes with EvoluteTools PRO

A compact, one day workshop.

When, where

26 (&27) of March 2012, SimplyRhinoTraining Classroom, London UK

Target audience

Professionals in the architectural and building industry

What participants can expect to learn in this workshop

Participants will be introduced to the principle of subdivision modeling and its generalization (combining different global and local subdivision rules). We will have an in-depth look at mesh optimization and how it can be applied for construction aware design of panelisations. Throughout the whole workshop EvoluteTools PRO 2.0 for Rhino will be used by the attendees for hands-on examples and exercises. Participants can bring their own designs (freeform surfaces) to be panelised.

EvoluteTools PRO is an advanced Rhino plug-in providing access to powerful paneling and geometry optimization tools for freeform surfaces with a user friendly interface. Participants will receive a 15-day evaluation license of EvoluteTools PRO to further explore its capabilities.

Workshop presenter

Arch. Florin Isvoranu, Evolute GmbH

Complete details and registration...

Digital Crafting, Massana Arts School (Barcelona)

Digital Crafting, Massana Arts School

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The new realm of digital arts and crafts: a cambrian explosion of processes from traditional techniques through digital crafting, at Massana, the best fine arts school of Barcelona.

Venue
Dates: March 1, 2012 to June 28, 2012
Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Schedule: 17:00 to 20:30
Place: Escola Massana
C/Hospital, 56 08001 Barcelona
Metro: Liceu


Enrollment
On-line enrollment
934422000
Duration: 105 hours
Credits UAB: 7
Price: 652,5€+100€ enrollment
Pre-enrollment: 20.1-30.1
Enrollment: 9.2-18.2

Teachers
Pep Tornabell, digital fabrication researcher
Enrique Soriano, material geometry researcher

Goals
Application of the digital design and fabrication techniques through tools (software) and technologies (hardware) with the goal to provide an introduction of those tools within the creative and executive process of the different design and arts fields.

The course starts from a generic technical and theoretical explanation, focusing on the development of a personal project which will explore the student specific field.

Target
Students and professionals from fields:

• Technical (architecture, engineering)
• Artistic (graphic design, industrial design, fashion design, communication design, jewelry)
• Applied arts (sculpture, painting, printmaking)

Strategies
In the new technological paradigm, adapting the new fabrication tools (hardware+software) to master a subject or field, enables the expansion of possibilities, the control, the complexity and the richness of the generation and fabrication process.

Technologies
Each project will develop the material properties of its research (paper, wood, metal, leather, felt, ceramic, textiles). It will explore in parallel its numerical control:
Cutter/engraver (laser or mechanic)
Fressadora CNC (Numeric Control)
FDM (Fused Depostion Modeling)
SLS (Selective Laser Sintering)

Tools
Generative modeling (Rhino, Grasshopper)
Material behavior (processing)
Mesh refinement (MeshLab)
G-code (Machine programming language)

Details and registration...

New RhinoFabLab at SCAD in Savannah

We'd like to introduce you to SCAD/Jewelry and Objects located in Savannah, GA, on the Savannah College of Art & Design campus.  Join us in welcoming SCAD/Jewelry and Objects to our growing group of Authorized RhinoFabLabs.

What is a RhinoFabLab?
A RhinoFabLab™ (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale digital workshop, certified by McNeel, with an array of Rhino and Rhino compatible software and computer controlled tools and training. These tools cover the various leading-edge industrial methods and materials needed to design, analyze, and fabricate almost anything.

Generative Jewelry Design webinar, Feb 17

You may have seen our recent announcement for the Generative Jewelry Design with Rhino 5 (beta) and Grasshopper presentation.  For those unable to get to New York City for the live presentation, we will be broadcasting the session via GoToWebinar.  Sign up now!

Friday, February 17, 2012
11:00 am-12:30 pm (Eastern)

Join presenter Andres Gonzalez as he explains what Generative Jewelry Design with Rhino is and why it's a "must have" for jewelry designers using Rhino.

If you're in New York and would like to attend the session at FIT, you must RSVP to Dana Buscaglia.  Names will need to be submitted to security to gain access to the campus.

Questions? Contact Jackie Nasser at (305) 513-4445.

Details....

VisualARQ 1.5 available

VisualARQ 1.5 is now available to download. Owners of VisualARQ are encouraged to download and install VisualARQ 1.5. This is a free service release for all VisualARQ users.

What’s new in 1.5?

• Rhino 5 (32 and 64-bit) support.
• Real-time plan views (video).
• New display mode Hidden.
• Control points in slabs (video).
• Improved object and style editor dialog.
• Walls can be extended to roofs and slabs.

VisualARQ 1.5 fixes all known bugs. There are also several enhancements. See the complete list in What’s new.

Details and download...

V-Ray 1.5 for Rhino workshop in Barcelona

V-Ray 1.5 for Rhino workshop
March 19-20, 2012
Barcelona (Spain)

Organized by La Tienda del CAD, SMD and Flying Architecture, with Matúš Nedecký as the instructor, this is an essential workshop both for beginners and existing users of V-Ray for Rhino. The new functions of V-Ray 1.5 for Rhino will be covered as well.

Details and registration...

Geometry Gym - BIM and Model Exchange to/from Rhino/Grasshopper

Geometry Gym provides tools for architects and engineers, streamlining workflow processes for improved productivity and designs. Powerful parametric and generative modeling of structures is enabled by using plug-ins for Grasshopper and Rhino. Development is progressing for BIM model generation, manipulation and exchange using neutral formats such as IFC and CIS/2, particularly for projects that aren't flat and orthogonal.

Computational Geometry commands and functions (also useful to designers in industries other than architecture) are also provided in the plug-in StructDrawRhino. Tessellation (polygon packing), geodesic domes, mesh relaxation, minimal surfaces, and others are included. And you'll find worked examples of these used in architecture for projects such as the Beijing Water Cube or British Museum Great Court roof on the Geometry Gym blog.

Read the recent magazine article "The intelligent IFC Importer for Rhino" (in French)...

Seatec Marine trade show

February 8-10 - Seatec - Carrara, Italy

Seatec is an international exhibition of technology, subcontracting, and design for boats, mega yachts, and ships.

To see what's new in Rhino, Orca3D and RhinoParametrics, visit the NDAR Booth (D-857).

RhinoPiping 0.9.4

RhinoPiping is a new plugin, developed by NAVINN Software, for creating piping networks in a 3D environment and forwarding information to people working in engineering offices, purchasing, subcontracting, manufacturing, assembly, and testing.

RhinoPiping 0.9.4 has been released. See the release notes and download the beta version.

Badger 1.0, the batch renderer for Rhino - Released!

Hi all!

We've just put the finishing touches to Badger—the batch renderer plugin for Rhino. You can download a trial version from here:

http://www.badger3d.com

It's designed to work with all Rhino-compatible renderers, and it's great for setting up overnight render jobs without scripting using V-Ray or Maxwell—or one of the other plugins. There are lots of features.

Anyway, wander over and give it a try. At the very least, let us know what's missing!

Cheers,
The Badger development team

Gallery of Installations

Come and see the new Installations Gallery on the Grasshopper web site. Be inspired by the many projects from around the world.

Go to the Installations Gallery…

* If you would like to share photographs of your Grasshopper generated installation, we invite you to submit a gallery image to the Grasshopper site and add the tag “installation”.

Got spare change?

Michiel Cornelissen designs his projects in Rhino. Here is another fun project from his collection. And with 111 five-eurocents you can make one for yourself!

Details . . .

RhinoGold training in NYC

Learn RhinoGold and take advantage of this 3D technology specifically designed for jewelry.  CadBlu has organized a four-day class being held later this month.

Dates: February 13-16, 2012
Location: CadBlu, Inc, 37 W 28th St, 9th Floor, New York, NY, 10001
Details and registration: Call (212) 481-8700 or email

Sign up today!

Spring Challenge 2012 workshop in Vienna

Spring Challenge 2012
Feb 13-18
University of Applied Arts Vienna

IOA Spring Challenge is an international design workshop intended for architecture students interested in exploring integrated digital design and fabrication within the teaching environment of the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts.

Details...

Grasshopper workshops in Italy

New Grasshopper workshops and Computational Design Masters have been announced in Italy:

• February 6-8 - Grasshopper Livello 1 - Torino
• February 9-10 - Plug-It Grasshopper workshop - Rome
• February 22-26 - Advanced Grasshopper "Ecologic Patterns" - Milano
• March 1-4 - Built In Rhinoceros - Rome
• Starts May 17 - Master INARCH - Rome 

Check here all Grasshopper workshops...

Orca3D new WIP version 1.2.2

Leveraging the power of Rhino for the naval architect

This new version (1.2.2) of Orca3D contains several new features, improvements, and bug fixes. Some highlights include:

• Hydrostatics and Stability: By default, the Pre-float check is run each time hydrostatics are calculated to review the model for errors. This option can be disabled.
• Hydrostatics and Stability: Real-time hydrostatics and Sectional Area Curve will now update when an entire surface is moved (when the move is complete).
• Weight and Cost: If the user attempts to edit the weight/cost properties associated with a block instance, a message is provided that only the weight/cost properties associated with the block definition can be edited.
• Hull Design: Improved performance of Orca section calculation when dragging many objects.
• Licensing: Implemented a newer version of the Licensing libraries, allowing self-service activation through a user website for cases where Internet activation is not possible because the computer where Orca3D is installed does not have Internet access.
• Units Fixes: Fixed bug in unit conversion values for metric mass density units other than kg/m^3.
• OrcaMove Fixes: Fixed OrcaMove ghosting and an incorrect real-time sectional area curve behavior, in which one move caused two sectional area curve updates.
• PIAS Export Fixes: Modified PIAS section export to meet the requirement of positive transverse coordinate (regardless of whether port/stbd is modeled). Added logic to join station segments by filling in gaps with straight line segments.
• Hydrostatics: Fixed a bug in the scriptable version of the OrcaHydrostatics command when using the TransformModel command option. Fixed a bug in which undoing a surface manipulation while real-time hydrostatics/sectional area curve was active did not cause a hydrostatics/sectional area curve update.

This WIP will expire on March 1st. Either the final version of Orca3D 1.2 will be released before then, or a new WIP will be released.

Buy Orca3D...

Download Orca3D WIP 1.2.2...

Post a question to the Orca3D Forum...