Airspace is Public Space: International Call for Projects

International Call for Projects

The Airspace is Public Space initiative invites artists, designers, biologists, activists, architects, etc. to participate in its 1st Call to invent and imagine creative uses of the common airspace:

"We will offer three Drone Starting Kits for the best projects. Drone Starting Kit is a package with everything you need to prototype a project with unmanned aerial vehicles."

Some Open Source designs of the Drone Starting Kit are developed by Noumena Architecture with Rhino, like the Gimbal and the Box of the kit.

• Each kit includes:
• Open Source Flone Quadcopter
• Manual: How to use airspace
• Servo Gimbal
• 1-year expert technical assistance, consulting and coaching to make the project a reality

The jury will be composed of a group of professionals, Lot Amorós of Flone project, Nuria Sánchez of Drone Creativo, Natxo Varona from Drone RC/UAV Catalunya community and Andreu Ibàñez, president and founder of LleidaDrone.

Projects may be submitted until 00:00h on January 20, 2016.

Complete details...

ROB|ARCH 2016 conference

The ROB|ARCH 2016 conference (Sidney, 14-19 March 2016) offers a unique and dynamic hands-on experience of cutting-edge robotic technologies with applications for the design, architectural, and creative industries. In a series of workshops, you can work with live robots and observe robots working with each other. It will bring together architects, artists, designers, fabricators, and industry leaders and act as a platform for researchers and industry to exchange expertise, explore methods, compare techniques, and forge new connections.

ROB|ARCH 2016 will advance the discourse surrounding robotic fabrication and creative robotics in the theme Trajectories—towards integrating human-robot interactions, with sensor input and real-time feedback in diverse environmental conditions.

ROB|ARCH 2016, is hosted by The University of Sydney, working alongside partnering universities: The University of NSW, Bond University, RMIT, University of Technology Sydney, and Monash University.

Details...

Rhino & Grasshopper workshop in Jordan

90 Degrees Design Studio invites you to a Rhinoceros & Grasshopper workshop in Jordan:

"Our current workshop is the first in Jordan to introduce McNeel’s Rhinoceros and Grasshopper. It is an introduction into the world of Parametric Design using these two softwares. Grasshopper is a graphical program language through which one can model complex geometric forms. It builds generative algorithms where outputs to these forms are tied to the inputs of subsequent components. 

Rhino is an advanced NURBS modeler through which one does precision modeling, project workflow, and organization. Grasshopper uses Rhino as a modeling platform to develop parametrically controlled models with real time geometric manipulation. These two programs are a powerful combination where Grasshopper parametrically defines the model logics to explore variations and optimized solutions while Rhino models and visualizes it. These two programs are essential for architects, designers, engineers, professionals, and students interested in exploring professionally the world of parametric design."

This workshop will be held in Amman/Jordan between the 15th and 22nd of January 2016 from 5pm to 10pm.

Instructor: Aldo Sollazzo, Authorized Rhino Trainer

Registration: contact Rasha Al-shami

Webinar Series: Basic Modeling with Rhino for Windows (Beginner)

Webinar Series: Basic Modeling with Rhino for Windows (Beginner)

McNeel Europe

January 2016

10 am (CEST)

If you are new to Rhino, or if you have been working with Rhino for some time but you would like to see how a modeling expert completes a project from start to end, do not miss this free webinar. 

The session covers the modeling of a cup of coffee from a sketch. The goal is to complete a 3D model ready for rendering, 3D printing, or creating plans. No prior knowledge is needed, but you should be familiar with the software interface.

The webinar will be conducted by the tech team experts of McNeel Europe in different languages:

Spanish: January 18, 2016
Panelist: Rodrigo Bárcena

English: January 19, 2016
Panelist: Rodrigo Bárcena

Italian: January 20, 2016
Panelist: Giuseppe Massoni

German: January 21, 2016
Panelist: Verena Vogler

French: January 22, 2016
Panelist: Vanessa Steeg

Important details:

• Space is limited. Sign up today!
• This webinar is free for all attendees.
• The presentation will take approximately 40 minutes, followed by another 15 minutes for Q&A.
• After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Register now: Spanish...
Register now: English...
Register now: Italian...
Register now: German...
Register now: French...

Volvox - Point Cloud editing - New version

Henrik Leander Evers and Mateusz Zwierzycki just released a new version of Volvox, their plugin for Point Cloud editing.

Some of the new features:

• New Engine - EngineX with a different user interface (it is now possible to abort calculations)

• A big part of the components is now multithreaded

• E57 reader library written from scratch

• No more Python compiling in the background

• User Data introduced - attach any numerical data to the point cloud

• Other new utility components

Download Volvox from food4Rhino

Design By Data Live Session with Philippe Morel

The Advanced Master on Computational Design and Making at the Ecole des Ponts in Paris started last month a new project called Design By Data Live Session:

"The aim is to improve our communication with you. We will have each month a live session with a Special Guest talking about Computational Design and Making Culture.

Next 21st December at 18h30 we will have our second session with our Special Guest Philippe Morel, Head of Scientific and Educational Commitee of our Advanced Master in Computational Design and Making."

Complete details...

c--c | glass with a twist

Building curved walls from bent glass traditionally is a costly affair. Using adjustable appliances, or even custom molds, a flat glass sheet is heated to about 600 ° C, until the entire sheet gets ductile. It then gradually, due to gravity, takes the desired shape. The part needs to remain inside the furnace for many hours to slowly neutralize bending stresses. The outcome is certainly attractive but the efforts inevitably are reflected in the price per unit.

A product concept presented by the German industrial designer Holger Jahns pursues an entirely different approach at a lower cost. Industrially prefabricated elements from glass come with a unique coupling mechanism which permits joining slim individual elements at any angle and without ever committing planners to a particular shape.

c--c indeed is an advancement over channel glass – a machine rolled glass product in U-shape, which has been in production for decades. The updated profile shape makes the product truly fit for curved architectural applications.

More information at the Grasshopper Forum & Main Project's web site...

Apple Accessory 3D Printing Challenge by i.materialise

Apple Accessory 3D Printing Challenge: Win a 3D Print of Your Apple Gadget Add-on + a 200 EUR Voucher!

"3D printing is changing the way we design products – we see it with iPhones, iPads, iPods, Apple Watches or MacBooks: as soon as a new tech product is out on the market, the 3D modeling & printing community creates a world around them. 3D printed stands, docks, covers, mounts… there are no limits to creativity and innovation. In order to encourage you to design even more of these great products, we’re launching our newest design challenge together with Rhino: the Apple Accessory Challenge." -- i.materialise

Complete details...

3D Print your Rhino models with Sculpteo

Sculpteo is one of the world’s leading professional 3D printing services based in San Francisco and Paris. It offers on-demand 3D printing of individual products as well as short-run manufacturing. 

Sculpteo recently released the "3D Printing with Rhinoceros 3D" tutorial, to help you prepare a successful model for 3D printing, as well as free online tools to manage your 3D file: analyse and repair your 3D file in seconds, review the solidity of the future 3D print and even hollow the inside of the model to make it cheaper to print!

3D Printing with Rhino tutorial...

Hull Design & Fairing Training in the Netherlands

Hull Design & Fairing Training
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands 
19-22 January 2016

Goal: Design high-quality hulls with Rhino fast and flexible

Rhino enables accurate, flexible, and fair hull design with “Rapid Hull Modeling Methodology”. This method is developed by RhinoCentre in cooperation with other professionals in the marine industry.

After years of offering training and services to leading companies in the marine industry worldwide, RhinoCentre finally developed the unique training modules: Prepare 2D input and Hull Design and Fairing Level-1 and Level-2.

These three modules are now combined in a three-day event that unveils the mystery of Class-A fairing to any designer, engineer, naval architect, or shipyard. 

One free extra day lets you work on your own project with our assistance.

Complete details and registration...

Evolute T.MAP new beta and video

T.MAP Update  - Try the latest beta release now!

Download T.MAP from food4Rhino...

SIR Manufactura Digital- México, D.F., a new RhinoFabStudio

Welcome SIR Manufactura Digital, a new Certified RhinoFabStudio. 

SIR Manufactura Digital, located in Mexico D.F., has over 20 years of experience in handling CNC machines and CAD software. They offer both 3D modeling services (licenses and training), and machining (purchasing your own equipment).

SIR Manufactura Digital has been an ARTC since 2004. They offer the needed equipment for their customers to develop their projects. 

Some of their equipment includes manufacturing plastic injection casting, machines for the automotive industry, manufacturing of molds for chocolates, creation of wax models and molds for footwear, and manufacturing of dies for metal cutting, among other applications.  

For more information, please contact Adrián Juárez.

What is a RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) 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.

MecSoft releases RhinoCAM 2016

MecSoft released RhinoCAM 2016, their newest version of MecSoft's integrated CAM solution for Rhino 5 for Windows.

RhinoCAM 2016 includes four CAM modules: RhinoCAM-MILL, RhinoCAM-TURN, RhinoCAM-NEST, and RhinoCAM-ART. Each are integrated inside Rhino 5 for Windows and can be bought and licensed independent of each other. All CAM modules are significantly enhanced and improved in this 2016 release to provide a powerful and complete manufacturing platform.

Some of the newly introduced features are:

• Enhancements to 2 Axis, 3 Axis, and 4 Axis Milling as well as Turning toolpath methods
• Enhancements to Cut Material Simulation, Tooling, and Feeds/Speeds
• Enhancements to Knowledge Bases for the automation of programming tasks
• Utilities for cabinet makers to help in programming toolpaths for cabinet manufacturing
• Enhancements to the RhinoCAM-NEST module

"RhinoCAM 2016 improves upon a CAM product that consistently exceeds expectations of our users. With an emphasis on automation of programming tasks in this release, along with our continued focus on improving our toolpath generation methods, we are proud to release this product to our customers." -- Joe Anand, President and CEO of MecSoft Corporation

More information ....

Download demo ....

Getting Started Live - Q&A tech support sessions

 

Getting Started Live - Q&A tech support sessions

You've downloaded and installed Rhino. Now, what's next? Bring your questions and issues to these live technical support sessions designed to get you started using your Rhino for Windows or Rhino for Mac.

Check the schedule and sign up here.

We will:

• Introduce the interface, basic terminology, and modeling workflow
• Create a model together
• Review tech support resources, training options, and best practices
• Open Mic Questions (or you can chat them)

Submit your questions, issues or problems when you register, so we can include them in our presentation.

Session may be longer/shorter depending on attendance and questions. If we cannot get you an answer during the live session, we will research and follow up with you after the presentation.

See the schedule...

InnoChain ETN network just started

McNeel Europe is the industrial partner of InnoChain, a European PhD program that finances 15 international PhD fellowships across leading European academic and industrial institutions in the fields of architecture and engineering starting in October 2015. The program is funded by the European Community’s Horizon 2020 Framework program, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network scheme.

Stephanie Chaltiel is one of the Innochain scholars at the UPC/ IaaC Barcelona under Prof. Manuel Gausa. Her PhD research project investigates Small Scale Robotic Manufacturing for Large Scale Buildings in collaboration with Cloud 9 and Rok, McNeel Europe, Kuka, Robots IO.

-Abstract-
Earth construction and Robots are playful, surprising with great potential for the construction industry of tomorrow. To interact with them as architects, builders, or dwellers is also entertaining and enjoyable.

The field of investigation in terms of new forms that Mud and Robots provoke when they play together is extremely exciting, in terms of new architectural forms they can generate.

This research focuses on the use of small robots and natural local material for Housing, Sustainability and Affordability in Catalonia.

The performance in this research will be based on the small size of the robot versus the large size of the construction, on the sensitivity of the robots, on the synchronized actions and on the potential of housing quality it can generate.

"Sunglasses" webinar video now available

 

 

In case you missed our "Modeling Sunglasses in Rhino 5 for Mac" webinar last week, we have posted the video. Click here to watch it now.

 

 

Webinar: Modeling Sunglasses in Rhino for Windows

Webinar: Modeling Sunglasses in Rhino for Windows
Thursday, December 10, 2015
9 am - 11 am PST

Sign up today!

Kyle Houchens of The Outside Digital Design will show you how to model sunglasses using Rhino for Windows.

In this fast moving and informative session, he will create a pair of sunglasses using advanced surfacing methods. He will analyze, render, and prepare the model for fabrication. Rhino tips and tricks will be covered throughout the presentation.

Kyle will model using Rhino for Windows, but all Rhino users (both Windows and Mac) are welcome to attend.

The presentation will take approximately one hour with time for Q&A at the end of the webinar.

The session is being recorded and the video will be posted here by December 12th.

Register ...

How to fit in the neighborhood

It is refreshing to see architecture that considers its surroundings. For the Soho neighborhood in New York, BKSK could have just stuck in a statement building -- a fine piece of architecture, but not necessarily compatible with its neighbors. Instead BKSK blended with the historic neighbors, echoing at one end the small punched openings of the 1850 building next door. Then the design transitions to the large windows of a curtain wall, echoing the 1872 cast iron building also near by.

BKSK used a variety of software, including Grasshopper, to design the facade modulation.

Details in The Architect's Newspaper...

Rhino Level 1 Training in Istanbul

Rhinocenter Istanbul has organized a new Rhino Level 1 training on December 12. It will be held on weekends (starts at 11.00 – ends at 14.00) and it will last for four weeks.

Details and registration...

Porsche 911 Carrera and Mercedes 300 SL "Gullwing" by IMAGO Design

Modeled in Rhino, rendered in V-Ray by IMAGO Design

"Ferdinand Porsche set a new benchmark in car design. Starting with the early Porsche 356 in 1948, developing the 550 Spyder and arriving at the state of art 911 (991) Carrera S Coupe.

Porsches have always been items of admiration for my part. The specific design DNA defines a specific and recognizable aesthetics.

I imagine the loft of a Collector with the 911 parked inside of the living space. It creates a kind of an unusual dynamic image, reminding us of superheros like Batman with their beloved vehicles in the cave.

Once I visited a CG company in Bergen, Norway, whereby one of the owners took me with his car to visit their office in the harbour. He parked directly inside of the office and when I stepped out I had to be careful not to hit one of the other working guys there with the door. I thought this concept (not the door hitting) was quite unique.

When I grow up, I will get a 911 myself too.. It is good to have dreams, after all!"

Jan Kokol, IMAGO Design

Also check out Jan Kokol's tutorial on modeling the Mercedes 300 SL "Gullwing":

ROB|ARCH 2016 - Be there!

ROB|ARCH 2016 is where the cool kids will hang out.

Robots are where it is happening. If you don't believe it, check out the videos from ROB|ARCH 2014. (more...)

In just one week, you can learn everything about robotic fabrication in architecture, art, and design from the experts.

ROB|ARCH 2016 in Sydney, Australia
Workshops: March 15–17, 2016
Conference: March 18–19, 2016
www.robarch2016.org

Register now (Space is very limited!)

See how to program a robot in 60 seconds...

Garden sculpture emerging from a slab

Grid 2

A 3D grid emerges from a 4-ton limestone slab. This garden sculpture by Messner Architects was designed with Rhino. Then the extracted data was the departure point for the CAM process.

Messner web site ....

Curso Experto en Impresión 3D y tecnología avanzada de diseño - Universidad Europea de Madrid

Curso Experto en Impresión 3D y tecnología avanzada de diseño
Universidad Europea de Madrid
Dec 2015 - Sep 2016

The digital fabrication boom for both design and construction has experienced an exponential growth and an increasing impact on the professional field. 3D printing is an innovative technology that consists in creating three-dimensional objects through additive processes, adding material in a layer-by-layer logic. With this method you can realize prototypes and end-products for a wide variety of industries, in many diverse applications:

• Industrial design, for both the realization and testing of parts that create a direct feedback between designer, product, and end-user.
• A brand new concept of construction technologies and project management, which ultimately affects every agent involved in the building industry.
• The redefinition of the current model of production, through self-production and access to high-end, low-cost physical products. 

Furthermore, 3D printing has a series of competitive advantages when it comes to product manufacturing:

• Low-volume production levels
• Ideal for complex designs and object volumes
• High degree of customization without extra costs 

The inherent economical advantages to this 3D printing technology are worth mentioning:

• Significant reduction of production times
• Reduction of production costs and enhanced logistics with in-house production control capabilities
• Avoid product stock
• Sales-oriented production
• Zero waste

Details and registration (in Spanish)... 

GIZMO - FabStudio Digital S.A. de C.V.

We would like to welcome FabStudio Digital S.A. de C.V. as an Authorized RhinoFabStudio.

Visit their RhinoFabStudio site—the place where they share and display their work and the work of their students and clients. Stay in touch with their Facebook page to learn about their upcoming events. 

For more information, please contact Joel Rios.

What is a RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) 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.

111 Murray Street - NY residential tower

Large architectural projects involve many different stakeholders. Typically these projects require countless hours of reworking the model and the supporting design information. Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) uses a parametric design process, which includes Rhino and Grasshopper, to create a dynamic design model. With KPF's parametric workflow, everything remains up-to-date, and the model is kept lightweight. 

111 Murray Street is the latest residential tower designed by KPF to join the skyline of New York City skyscrapers. Using a harmonious blend of applications, the project design developed as a parametric model that was part of a larger building information modeling process. Design aesthetics and planning information link to create a dynamic model that responds to programming changes. Early on, the team was able to make design changes and see real-time analytics dynamically updated. Some of these analytics include:

• Wall-type panel counts used to inform fabricators of unit quantities

• Window-to-wall ratio values used to inform energy modeling efforts

• Floor areas used to maximize FAR

• Facade panel twist to inform design gestures

• Setout documentation for drawing set coordination

The computational workflow not only benefits KPF clients and employees but also has been noticed by KPF industry partners.

We continue to see these design workflows evolve.  

More KPF projects....

LARK Spectral lighting for Grasshopper

Lark Spectral Lighting is a new plugin for Grasshopper that helps architects, lighting designers, and researchers investigate circadian light metrics within a daylighting workflow. Designers can define the color of skies, glazing, and building materials based on spectral data. Also, luminance renderings and irradiance data can be used to analyze the relative impact of design options on the nonvisual, circadian system. 

Lark Spectral Lighting is a collaboration of the University of Washington and ZGF Architects LLP.

Download from food4Rhino

AEC Technology Symposium Videos

If you  missed the symposium, the presentations are now online in this YouTube playlist.

SeaHorse Hydrostatics 1.44b released

It's time for an updated SeaHorse. Some internal polishing has been done, but nothing to tell your friends about. New outputs are more important: 

• Location of CoB and CoF in relation to WL length, as well as their World XYZ coordinates. 
• Displacement-length and speed-length ratios should give more performance indicators for your hulls. 
• Displacement speed is also added as an output, according to classic theory and light craft method presented in Dave Gerr's book. 

Known bugs: Hull entry and exit angles still misbehave, sometimes computed correctly, sometimes showing weird values. VIZIBLE is working on implementing a better IQ for getting the correct angles. 

Lastly, the donate button collected 30.02 euros so far. 

Download from food4Rhino...

Meet Pearl, the fabricated elephant and runway star

The architectural firm of Payette is having some fun by challenging themselves with their fabrication process. As part of Payette's circus theme, Pearl was a hit on the runway of the IIDA New England 2015 Fashion Show on November 5th.

Details and fun videos ....

Rhino for Mac Webinar: Modeling Sunglasses

Webinar: Modeling Sunglasses in Rhino for Mac
Thursday, November 19, 2015
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM PST

Sign up today!

Kyle Houchens of The Outside Digital Design will show you how to model sunglasses using Rhino for Mac.

In this fast moving and informative session, he will create a pair of sunglasses using advanced surfacing methods. He will analyze, render and prepare the model for fabrication. Rhino tips and tricks will be covered throughout the presentation.

Kyle will model using Rhino for Mac, but all Rhino users are welcome to attend.

The presentation will take approximately one hour with time for Q&A at the end of the webinar.

If you cannot attend the live session, the video will be posted here by November 20, 2015.

Register ...

Grasshopper in biology and living materials

MIT's Tangible Media Group, bioLogic, is applying Rhino and Grasshopper to nature.

Working with biofilm, a thin film of bacteria that adheres to a surface, bioLogic introduced a living cell as a nano actuator, or instigator. BioLogic's vision is a world where these actuators are grown from nature, instead of engineered in factories.

They grow and harvest the living cell actuators in a biolab, assemble them by a micron-resolution bio-printing system, then transform them to Second Skin. This biological skin responds to body temperature and perspiration. In their project video you can see the flaps open around the heat zones, enabling sweat to evaporate and cool down the body. Think of the possibilities for sportswear.

BioLogic used Rhino and Grasshopper to simulate shapes and generate tool paths.

More info on the bioLogic project ...  

rese arch MEETUP 2015 - Bratislava (Slovakia)

rese arch MEETUP 2015

Bratislava (Slovakia)

11-13 December 2015

Design by behavior – a paradigm shift from biomimetic towards morphogenetic, artistic concepts ruling swarm behavior

rese arch has organized a symposium made of short lectures followed by short discussions with the speakers. The event will be a friendly gathering, an occasion to meet, network, and update each other on what we have been recently doing and to discuss each other’s work in person. 

The symposium organizers are interested in the phenomena of emergence, behavior simulation and conscious complex systems in the design and fabrication process in architecture, design, and spatial art. 

The meetup will take place in Bratislava, Slovakia on 11th, 12th and 13th of December, 2015.

Complete details and registration...

NERO - translate environmental conditions into data

NERO add-in for Grasshopper/Rhino

NERO is a collaborative project led by Noumena with the aim to develop systems and tools to translate different environmental conditions into data. As part of this research, Noumena developed a first add-in NERO (V 0.6.2 beta) for Grasshopper.

NERO lets you extract data from a single image (JPEG format) and translate into Grasshopper and Rhino interface. You can visualize the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from each pixel of the image. NDVI is directly related to the photosynthetic capacity and energy absorption of plants. It also can be used for other scopes.

Is it snowing yet?

Outside magazine selected the Fimbulvetr Rangr snowshoe as their Best Showshoes for Deep Powder 2016.

Outside points out the 50 percent more float, 11-inch wide molded plastic deck, simple webbing and plastic binding. And they are easy to use and durable. The Rhino and Grasshopper people are delighted to be a part of this. Designed in Norway by Pivot.

Outside's The Best Snowshoes of 2016 ....

INNOVA - International Conference and Workshops in Mexico

The Panamerican University (UP) in Guadalajara, Mexico invites you to INNOVA  conferences and workshops, a gathering of a strategic group of people to talk about innovation and design. It is also a great opportunity for students, recent graduates, and entrepreneurs to share experiences and enhance their development process.

Please join Andres Gonzalez, director of RhinoFabStudio, who will be doing a Data Driven Design presentation (November 13 at 2:00 pm) and workshop (November 12 at 9:00-18:30 pm) with Rhino and Grasshopper.

Register here! 

What is a RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) 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.

Evolute T.MAP new release

EvoluteTools T.MAP beta is a plugin providing mesh parametrization for Rhino, including:

• Remeshing using pure quad or pure triangle meshes
• Texture mapping of quadrangular or triangular patterns with minimum distortion
• Design of smooth curve networks on free-form surfaces
• User-guided alignment with curves or principal curvature directions

Check out what's new at the Evolute blog...

Download from food4Rhino...

Export Grasshopper geometry to the Spectacles BIM web viewer

Spectacles is a hackable BIM viewer for the web. Export Grasshopper geometry in a .json file format that the Spectacles Web Viewer can load.  (Currently, meshes and lines are supported.) In other words, this plugin lets you export meshed Grasshopper geometry to the web browser.

Spectacles is a research project enabled by Thornton Tomasetti's ongoing commitment to innovation and research in the AEC community.  It is an open source project licensed under the MIT license.

Download Spectacles from food4Rhino