Gimbal for a drone

Now, Rhino 5 for Mac is used to design carbon composite gimbals for aerial photography. For those not familiar with drones, a gimbal is the mechanism that keeps the camera horizontal in a moving vessel, such as a drone.

Jacek Witalinski learned Rhino and designed his prototype in two weeks from start to finish, with the aid of a few tutorials. "It was my first drawing using this excellent tool." 

See his project at DIY Drones ...

Robots and Cyborgs in Architecture Workshop - Istanbul, Turkey

MASS v.1.0 - Robots and Cyborgs in Architecture Workshop
Istanbul, Turkey
1-10 July 2015

Media Architecture & Spatial Systems Workshop (MASS) aims to tackle the abstract notion of Spatial Design through a trifold relation between space, media and technology. Under the umbrella of MASS, the Robots and Cyborgs International Workshop will integrate the use of a robot for digital fabrication with a cybernetic Virtual Reality (VR) system and into a spatial system.

Starting off with an overview of Robotic Fabrication and VR systems it will quickly move on to the control of both components and concepts through tutorials in robotic fabrication and virtual reality.

In order to support this development the Robots and Cyborgs workshop will also be supported by a series of lectures related to the subject of Media Architecture & Spatial Systems.

Details and registration...

Rhino Architectural workshop in Sevilla, Spain

3D|ArchViz Workshop de modelado con Rhino aplicado a la arquitectura

Sevilla, Spain

June 29-July 9, 2015

Render's Factory and arquitextonica present a new workshop for architects who want to learn 3D modeling in Rhino.

Complete details (in Spanish)... 

AA Visiting School Jordan

Crystalline Formations - 2015

July 23-August 2, 2015

Amman, Dead Sea, Jordan Valley

The Dead Sea is a hyper-saline lake that exists at 427 meters below sea level and features a one-of-a-kind extreme ecological condition. It is the lowest point on earth and exhibits a diverse platform for research into the Ecomorphology of crystalline formations.

In 2015, the AA in Jordan continues in its third cycle to build upon research into naturally occurring phenomena in the region, and how these phenomena can inform design methodologies that re-think existing practices. The program will focus on crystalline formations and their potential development at a variety of architectural and urban scales through the use of cutting-edge computational design technology.

The program will bring together a network of distinguished faculty and guests to offer design-research units, specialist tooling seminars, and a guest-lecture series. The series is based in Amman with exclusive visits to the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea.

Complete details...

Upcoming Rhino courses in South Africa

SimplyRhino SA has announced new Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced training dates (June-Dec 2015) in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Program details and schedule...

Iris - WebGL Exporter for Rhino

Iris is a free Work In Progress file export plugin for Rhino 5 that facilitates the viewing of Rhino files in a modern web browser.  Iris now exports most Rhino objects and includes a web viewer with access to layers and views from the Rhino model.  

Download Iris 0.3.1 on food4Rhino...

Filling the Void workshop - India

Void: null, invalid, empty, redundant.

Through years of development in India, there has been both organic urban growth and inorganic architectural growth. All this leading to a void in the physical and metaphorical sense.

Filling the Void looks at void as an opportunity, potential, and driver of change for architecture and design education in India.

rat [LAB] EDUCATION, in association with Super-Architects and its collaborators, is launching a new educational model with an open design studio. This could potentially change the way we conceive spaces within architectural and urban systems and architectural education in India. Through computation and its many techniques and methodologies, the studio aims to fill the void.

Filling the Void is a floating open studio new to India. The experimental studios will run across five cities in India: Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and New Delhi. Each city is a 3-day event with distinct urban contexts. There will be technical tutorials, teaching sessions, and presentations which culminate in a round-table discussion with leading and emerging professionals that demonstrate computation, parametric design or alternative techniques.

Grasshopper is the central focus of the event. Participants are taught computational techniques through Grasshopper, with ways to integrate it with architecture and urban systems. No previous knowledge of Grasshopper is required, although basic modeling skill in Rhino is preferred.

Cities and dates:
Mumbai - June 22-24
Chennai - June 29-July 1
Bengaluru - July 3-5
Chandigarh - July 16-18
New Delhi - August 6-8

More details and registration ... 

Fab Lab goes mobile

Thanks to a Career Technical Education (CTE) revitalization grant through the Oregon Department of Education, Sherwood High School is taking its Fab Lab on the road. Bowman Fab Lab, run by high school teacher John Niebergall, travels from school to school by RV. The mobile Fab Lab takes technology and course ideas directly to students and teachers. It provides equipment, teaches students how to use it, and shows teachers how to build a career program.

During the visit, students will be able to try out the technology. The Fab Lab teaches how to use Rhino and and how to use a CNC program.

Based on MIT's Fab Lab model, the Bowman Mobile Fab Lab is equipped with a 3D printer, laser cutters, microcontroller boards, vinyl cutter, and laptops with Rhino software. The participating schools get a CNC vinyl cutter, plus at least one month's materials to get started.

More info and video on the traveling lab ...

VisualARQ 1.9 now also imports IFC format

VisualARQ 1.9 is now available!

This version fixes all known bugs and includes a significant number of new features, including:

• IFC Import. (Video)
• IFC tag. (Video)
• Multilayer slabs (Video)
• Columns can be created from blocks for the 2D/3D representation (Video)
• Option to insert openings in curtain walls
• Curtain walls with curved panels
• Added a control point to lean curtain walls
• Tag orientation (Video)
• Plan view depth of field

See the complete list in What's New.

Urban Network Analysis toolbox for Rhino

Introduction from City Form Lab on Vimeo.

The Urban Network Analysis (UNA) toolbox for Rhino (developed by City Form Lab) offers powerful functions for measuring accessibility and connectivity between spatial locations along networks and to estimate people's movement from a set of origins to a set of destinations. 

The UNA toolbox includes 22 new tools for creating and editing networks, manipulating the weights of origin and destination points, importing and exporting data, running spatial analysis functions and controlling the graphic display options.

More details and to download on food4Rhino...

EXTRA FABRICA workshop 2015

EXTRA FABRICA 2015 is an intense technique and production-based workshop.

Location: The Shih Chien University, Taipei, Taiwan

Time: July 18–29, 2015 – 12 days

Target audience: Students, architects, urban planners, designers, artists, and individuals with other backgrounds with an interest in engaging in new techniques of design methodologies and technologies of production.

Program details: http://www.dezact.org/program-2/

Deadlines: Early Bird, May 1-June 1 Late Registration, June 2-18 Registration will be closed on June 18

Course + fee: http://www.dezact.org/information-2/

To apply: http://www.dezact.org/apply-2/

Beyond Building Barcelona 2015 - exhibition, workshops, and symposium

Beyond Building Barcelona 2015

Fira Barcelona, Gran Via Venue

May 19-23

Shape the future of the building industry with the Pavilion of Innovation 2015 in Beyond Building Barcelona, curated by IaaC | Fab Lab Barcelona. This exhibition and symposium will present new ideas and construction paradigms emerging from international excellence in research and pilot projects. Novel and reactive materials, advanced digital/robotic manufacturing techniques and responsive environments are the key topics presented.

Exhibition

A limited number of pioneer academic research projects and prototypes from the BEYOND | CALL FOR PROJECTS, as well as professionally built projects and prototypes will be exhibited within the Pavilion of Innovation 2015. This includes Enrico Dini's D-Shape, Philippe Block's Rib-stiffened funicular floor system and Neri Oxman's Silk Pavilion.

The aim is to offer a matchmaking space for research and innovative projects to meet construction and technology companies, construct the bridge connecting innovation with the industry and businesses, and present possibilities for projects to be implemented in real world developments.

More details...

Events

The Pavilion of Innovation 2015 will also host events such as a symposium and round table where pioneer architects and designers will discuss future technologies and innovation in construction. The Pavilion of Innovation 2015 will also host an educational workshop series on wearable technology, internet of things, digital fabrication, robotic construction technology and aerial robotics. This is open to all professionals and students.

The symposium will take place on Saturday, May 23, where each speaker presents its innovative work and ideas in short sessions. Thematic 4D printing, digital fabrication, self-sufficient buildings and distributed manufacturing will be discussed during this event.

More details...

Workshops

Several international workshops will take place in the Pavilion of Innovation 2015  May 19-23. Varying from 1-day seminars to 5-day workshops, participants can learn about wearable technology and computational design, digital fabrication, internet of things, robotic printing with clay and data mapping using aerial robotics.

More details...

A Celebration of Young Architectural Design - BuroHappold Engineering

A Celebration of Young Architectural Design
BuroHappold Engineering
Tuesday, 2 June 2015 from 6 pm to 10 pm (BST)
London, United Kingdom

BuroHappold Engineering invites you to a private viewing showcasing four unique works created by architecture students from the University of Westminster Design Studio 10 led by Arthur Mamou Mani and Toby Burgess. These architectural interventions were selected through a design competition and have been chosen to complement our recently completed office refurbishment. Also featured will be a specially commissioned ceiling designed by Design Studio 10 tutor Arthur Mamou Mani.

The Design Studio 10 program focuses on bottom-up design, novel fabrication methods, open knowledge sharing and allowing making to influence the design process. This aligns with our interests at BuroHappold. Our support and funding has allowed the students to realize their ideas and improve their portfolios as architects. Please join us in celebrating the work of young designers.

BuroHappold Engineering
71 Newman Street
London W1T 3AH
Phone: +44 20 7927 9700

Details and registration...

Rhino for Architecture workshop - Vienna

Rhino for Architecture workshop

Vienna, Austria

15-16 June 2015

The workshop will showcase the different uses of Rhino along the process of architectural production, from conceptual development through construction documentation. Starting with an overview of Rhino as an all‐around tool for conceptualizing and developing architectural models, the class will then illustrate the software's potential for geometry control, rationalization, and the coordination of information across the design team. Further options for documentation production, visualization, interoperability with other software and BIM-compliant workflows will be demonstrated. Each subject will be explained through the step-by-step development of examples and built case studies with detailed analysis of key commands and critical workflows. 

Vincent Nowak (Flow Architecture) and Annarita Papeschi (Zaha Hadid Architects) will share their detailed knowledge from their direct experience working on large complex projects at Zaha Hadid Architects as well as the intricacies of integration on smaller projects at Flow Architecture. Together they will demonstrate, through actual case studies, how Rhino was used in the design of various building parts and then ultimately integrated with other software packages to smoothly move between design and construction in a rational and efficient manner. 

Complete details and registration...

Help us build amazing student architecture at Burning Man!

Join us to bring three architectural projects to life at Burning Man festival 2015!

WeWantToLearn.net are a postgraduate design studio from the University of Westminster in London known for its study of parametric systems, creative flair and rigorous physical and material testing in a search for new architectures.

Over the past two years our design studio has successfully built three projects at the Burning Man Festival each the result of a long creative design process, countless hours of study and sheer determination. This year is no exception and we hope to give three new exciting and beautiful proposals to share with you and the people of burning man.

We have been fortunate enough to receive funding from the black rock city honoraria to each bring a pavilion life at this years festival which takes place from 31st August to 7th September  however to make these projects a reality we still need your help!

To the Kickstarter campaign...

RhinoGold presentation at icreatia (Barcelona, Spain)

icreatia invites you to a free RhinoGold presentation on Thursday 14 May at 5 pm.

Registration (in Spanish)...

Hummingbird updates!

Hummingbird has updates for its plugin, a set of Grasshopper geometry components that creates bidirectional communication between Revit and Rhino geometry.

• Bidirectional Revit and Rhino support!  This new component now allows reading output from Revit to create geometry in Rhino.
• Support for Revit 2015 (as well as 2014).
• Units! Whitefeet ModelBuilder tool now includes the ability to specify metric or other custom units upon import.
• No more Excel! Read and write using simple CSV text files.

Through Hummingbird, translating Rhino primitive geometry to Revit has been vastly simplified without the need for linking or reference objects. This allows the downstream Revit model to be modified and adapted for the project duration.

More details ...

Custom guitars with RhinoCAM

Occasionally we venture out of our office cubby holes and visit people who actually use Rhino. When we took a field trip to a local CNC user group, we discovered David Myka Custom Guitars. David Myka's specialty is custom guitars, both acoustic and electric. Every instrument is a unique project. To achieved his desired tonal results, David Myka individually matches the wood pieces and tunes them where needed.

To help, David Myka uses Rhino 5 and RhinoCAM. He likes the combination of the two and the work flow. Using his html background, David has written a custom fretboard design tool using RhinoScript.

Digital Drawing Days - Arezzo, Italy

Authorized Rhino Reseller 3DWS invites you to the 6th edition of Digital Drawing Days (15-17 May Arezzo - Italy), a panorama of the latest tools for 3D modeling, rendering, and animation.

Don't miss the Rhino and Grasshopper presentations by Giuseppe Massoni (McNeel Europe) and Fabio Panerati.

Details and registration (in Italian)...

Program...

3D Printing Days - Genova (Italy)

3D Printing Days is a series of workshops, conference and open day (May-June 2015) organized by the authorized RhinoFabStudio puntoexedesign and Università degli Studi di Genova.

"The purpose of this workshop is to spread digital making culture and knowledge, suggesting a possible synergy between university and enterprise.

Nowadays the world of 3D printing is rapidly developing. Thanks to open source communities, opportunities and techniques so far reserved to big industries are now available for the individual citizen, the artisan and small enterprises.

This workshop is aimed at opening a small window on these possibilities: let future designers and architects being aware about the potentialities of this technology that is directly linked with the manufacturing world.

At the same time, this event wants to give the opportunity to enterprises, artisans and industry, in order to make them able to value, by means of actual experiences, how this sector is developing."

Details (in Italian)...

2015 RhinoFabStudio Mentors

2015 RhinoFabStudio Mentors

We would like to express our gratitude to all of the new RhinoFabStudio Mentors for 2015. The RhinoFabStudio community welcomes these volunteers as our mentors for Product Design and Digital Fabrication in 2015. 

The RhinoFabStudio Mentors are professionals in their respective fields and are here to assist you with anything regarding the implementation of a RhinoFabStudio, but they are unable to provide technical support. You may send your Rhino-related questions to tech@mcneel.com at any time.

To find out more about our mentors, please visit: http://www.rhinofabstudio.com/page/2015-fabstudio-mentors

In case you did not meet and/or speak with any of our 2014 RhinoFabStudio's mentors, here is the list:

http://www.rhinofabstudio.com/page/rhinofabstudio-mentor

Once again, we extend our thanks to each and every one of you. We truly appreciate your help!

Rhino open house in Tampere (Finland)

Authorized Rhino Reseller An-Cadsolutions invites you to its Open House on May 26th (from 9 to 18h) in Tampere, Finland.

Come see the latest solutions for 3D modeling, scanning, 3D printing and CNC milling, including Rhino, RhinoCAM, Rhino3DPRINT, Blueprinter 3D-printer, Felix 3D-printer, Roland ARM-10 3D-printer, David SLS-2 3D-scanner, RangeVision 3D-scanner, Sense 3D-scanner, Roland CNC- and engraving machines, Azon flatbed printer, MicroScribe digitizer, Wacom, and 3Dconnexion products.

Details and registration...

RhinoPolyhedra update available

The RhinoPolyhedra plugin for Rhino 5 for Windows lets you create and visualize a variety of polyhedral shapes—over 450 different shapes.

RhinoPolyhedra supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Rhino 5 for Windows.

15 additional Geodesic Cube solid shapes and 30 new Geodesic Rhombic Triacontahedra solid shapes have been added.

RhinoPolyhedra is free!

Requires Rhino 5 Service Release 9 (SR9) or newer.

Download...

Casa La Atarraya - Ahuachapán, El Salvador

First High School Degree in Industrial Design - Ahuachapán, El Salvador in process of becoming an Authorized RhinoFabStudio.

Casa La Atarraya, located in a rural area of Ahuachapán, El Salvador, offers a high school degree in Industrial Design, which will be the only one of its kind in El Salvador. 

The idea of ​​the new degree in Industrial Design arises from the visit of US entrepreneur Steve Carlton, Head of the Design Team at Nautique Boat Company, which as part of their social work visited the school to donate decorations for one of its ships. In the process of designing it, he saw how the students were interested and asked about the software he was using on the computer, then thought to donate a license from the software he was using.

However, Carlton did not stop there and pushed to implement a complete digital fabrication laboratory. This is how he involves  McNeel Miami to join the cause. The school was able to receive a Rhino 5, 30-user lab license which will allow their Center for Design to obtain certification as a design and digital manufacturing studio. 

The accreditation from McNeel Miami represents that in the future, students can do work for companies anywhere in the world from the RhinoFabStudio in Ahuachapán.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Hamilton, Director of Personnel and Development at Casa La Atarraya.

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.

InnoChain vacancies: 15 PhD fellowships for start in 2015

InnoChain is an international PhD program for highly motivated young scientists, where state-of-the-art research is combined with a comprehensive training and secondment programme with industrial partners.

The network offers 15 PhD positions across six leading European institutions in the fields of architecture and engineering.

The network is funded by the European Community’s Horizon 2020 Framework programme, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network scheme.

For details regarding individual project descriptions, the offered fellowships, and the application process and requirements, please click here.

New Rhino Level 1 dates in Turkey

RhinoTurkiye has organized two new Rhino Level 1 workshops in Istanbul (Turkey).

Details and registration...

EvoluteTools T.MAP Beta now includes quad remeshing!

EvoluteTools T.MAP Beta is a new plugin providing mesh parametrization in Rhino.

The latest version includes mesh extraction and remeshing! 

Check what's new and download the beta here...

Graphisoft announces Rhino-Archicad connection

Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition Entry by Nikken Sekkei 

Graphisoft®, the leading Building Information Modeling (BIM) architectural software developer, has announced a Rhino® connection for Archicad. The connection enables Archicad users on both the Mac and Windows platforms to import Rhino models into Archicad as GDL objects.

The Rhino-Archicad link converts a Rhino model into Archicad geometry. The container of the Rhino-based model is GDL, which is Archicad’s generic object format. For larger and more complex models, Graphisoft has introduced the option to convert a Rhino model into a set of smaller GDL objects. This process enables the user to retain separate logical parts within the same model while providing the ability to monitor and easily update the imported Rhino models in Archicad. The LCF option enables Archicad's performance optimization algorithm to work seamlessly on an imported large Rhino model.

“We welcome Rhinoceros into the Archicad community,” said László Vértesi, Graphisoft Vice President of Product Development. “Rhino provides a robust modeling capability that nicely compliments the Archicad BIM solution.”

“Our users always want better integration with the other tools that they use,” said Robert McNeel, CEO, Robert McNeel & Associates. “We are delighted to be working with Graphisoft to meet our users’ demands."

This technology has been developed as part of an ongoing collaboration between Graphisoft and Nikken Sekkei to develop future architectural design technologies.

For more information and to download the Rhino add-on for Archicad, please visit http://www.graphisoft.com/downloads/addons/interoperability/rhino.html.

About Rhino
Rhinoceros® 5, developed by Robert McNeel & Associates, is the market leader in industrial design modeling software. Highly complicated shapes can be directly modeled or acquired through 3D digitizers. With its powerful NURBS-based engine, Rhino 5 can create, edit, analyze, and translate curves, surfaces, and solids. There are no limits on complexity, degree, or size.

About Nikken Sekkei
One of the world's largest architectural design firms with over 2,400 professional staff, Nikken Sekkei and its eight Group companies offer comprehensive design, engineering, management, consulting, and R&D services. Established in 1900, the company's portfolio comprises over 20,000 projects in 40 countries. Its activities cover a wide spectrum of sustainable public and private endeavors, including new city design, high-density/mixed-use transit-oriented developments, super high-rise buildings, business parks, offices, and facilities for commercial, cultural, educational, and healthcare use. Nikken Sekkei is headquartered in Tokyo and maintains branch offices in Singapore, China, Korea, Vietnam, and the UAE. In growing to its present position, the company has constantly focused on developing new methods and technologies that redefine design for current needs and priorities.

About Graphisoft
Graphisoft ignited the BIM revolution in 1984 with Archicad, the industry-first BIM software for architects. Graphisoft continues to lead the industry with innovative solutions such as its revolutionary BIMcloud®, the world’s first real-time BIM collaboration environment, EcoDesigner™, the world’s first fully BIM-integrated “GREEN” design solution and BIMx®, the world’s leading mobile app for BIM visualization. Graphisoft has been a part of the Nemetschek Group since its acquisition in 2007. Visit archicad.com to see the most important milestones in Archicad's 30-year history.