Tuesday, July 31, 2018

AAAngewandte2018 Summer School in Vienna (Austria) - September 8-16, 2018



This workshop is a collaboration between the Angewandte Architecture Challenge and the AA Visiting Schools, a unique opportunity to gain insight into the latest ideas taught at two world-renowned institutions.

With growing interest in algorithmic design and increasing sophistication of generative design strategies applied in architecture, the question of authorship and integration of high-tech computational design tools in a streamlined design-to-fabrication process is becoming an inseparable part of the discussion. Even though writing custom software tools for CAD software is growing within the industry, it is mostly used as a problem-solving device at certain phases of the project. This workshop is interested in the use of algorithms as an integral part of the design process.

The summer school workshop will conduct research into rule-based design systems, which examine modes of interaction between the designer (human) and the constraints of algorithms (machines). A set of programmed behaviors and rules form Computational Design Engines, which are used to design and digitally grow a series of architectural systems. 

The city of Vienna, with its rich historical heritage and dynamic contemporary architectural design landscape, will be used as an extended urban laboratory to research and experiment with digital design applications. The goal is to engineer specific design scenarios using digital technologies, digital design pedagogy, and full-scale digital fabrication strategies, looking into the assembly of parts and automation of fabrication processes.

Rhino 6 now available in Russian

Русская версия Rhino 6!

Rhino is now available in the Russian language!

You can browse through the website to learn about the new features in Rhino 6, and download the user’s interface.

In collaboration with our partner in Russia Sabit Soft, we will keep working on training materials to make them available in the Russian language soon.

For suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact McNeel Europe (in English). For support in Russian, please contact one of our authorized dealers.


Thursday, July 26, 2018

CLOAK watches: an entire collection in one watch


With its unique design, CLOAK is the first watch that lets you change the materials for every element. The face, bezel and strap can all be switched in seconds, giving you hundreds of possible material combinations to explore and wear.


Order now! The code CLOAKLAUNCH will give a £25 discount until the 31st of July.

Harri Lewis, co-founder of Mule Studio, describes the project:



"With CLOAK we have created a watch that not only showcases the world’s most beautiful materials but lets you switch between them in seconds too

Rhino was used throughout the process of realizing CLOAK, from early concepts to fabrication to packaging design.


As the watch is configurable by the user, high tolerances were required and Rhino delivered this perfectly, handling +-0.05mm with ease.


Rhino's wide range of export options meant we could easily send files and drawings to suppliers, fabricators, visualization teams in any format they required. This sped up the process significantly.


We really enjoyed using the new edge softening feature in Rhino 6 - it is amazing what such a subtle difference this makes to realism.


In-house and external 3D printing played a huge role in the development of CLOAK. Generating and exporting the required meshes was effortless.


Perhaps one of our favorite aspects of using Rhino - during reviews we are able to switch to large-scale construction projects (often hundreds of meters in scale) in the same piece of software. We find the skills developed in one type of project are often transferable to a completely different scale and Rhino enables this. For a small studio, this is invaluable.


And we haven't even mentioned Grasshopper yet - early stage design iterations were enjoyable to explore with instant feedback of both visuals and material volumes.


Thanks McNeel!"


SnappingGecko and JumpingFrog|Robot, new Grasshopper apps by WeArk


WeArk, a software development company specialized in architecture and engineering tools, recently added two new plugins to food4Rhino:

  • SnappingGecko - A free Grasshopper plugin which provides object snapping features, to help you keep your definitions clean.
  • JumpingFrog|Robot - A plugin that brings you seamless interaction features between McNeel’s Grasshopper and Autodesk's Robot Structural Analysis.


TreeHuggers: The Eco-Systemic Prototypical Urban Interventions for DIY


Marie Davidová (MArch, Ph.D.) and her partners have been kind enough to share the project TreeHuggers: The Eco-Systemic Prototypical Urban Interventions for DIY with the Rhino community.

TreeHuggers are responsive wood insect hotels designed to support biodiversity in urban environments. Thanks to the solid wooden panels’ gradient of response, TreeHuggers offer separate homes to diverse species of different bioclimatic preferences. The gradient is based on the original position within the tree trunk when cut in tangential section and the orientation to all world axis. Besides its historical context, TreeHuggers represent first responsive wood dwellings built in recent times. 

Two prototypes have been built: one in Prague, Czechia, within the project COLridor (Davidová, 2017) and the second in Nicosia, Cyprus, through a workshop at the 6th eCAADe RIS (Kontovourkis, 2018). Since the Central European and Mediterranean climates represent different climate moderation preferences, the TreeHuggerCZ and the TreeHuggerCY use different panel orientation. So, they warp in opposite directions. For more public interaction, as well as a larger impact on the environment, parametric Grasshopper codes and recipes are online for DIY locally adapted iterations. 

For more information, recipes, and the Grasshopper code go to the Systemic Approach to Architectural Performance website, 6th eCAADe RIS and RSD7 articles (Davidová, 2016; Davidová & Prokop, 2018; Davidová & Zímová, 2017). Please note, this project is provided under Creative Commons Non-Commercial Use Licence (Creative Commons, 2017). 



CROSSOVER Summer School in Baghdad (Iraq) - August 12-17, 2018



Baghdad (Iraq)
August 12-17, 2018


An architectural summer program, which operates under the CROSSOVER educational initiative, envisioned and directed by two architects: Raya Ani and Zayad Motlib.


The CROSSOVER summer school is an educational program that takes place every summer in a different city around the globe with a common theme of bridging divisions -- whether social, environmental, cultural, physical, or technological.

The CROSSOVER educational program is based on the cross-pollination of disciplines, generations, skills, systems, processes, and typologies. The program tackles urban and architectural challenges related to a particular context of a city. Through the cross-pollination of disciplines, the studio emphasizes systems rather than individual solutions to rethink complex challenges by offering new discourses and narratives. It is the fusion of academic and non-academic knowledge, the theory and the practice.  

The program includes field studies, technical tutorials, and lectures that aim to expand participants’ knowledge. It also includes presentations and crit reviews by renowned academics and practitioners.  



Wednesday, July 25, 2018

How does Rhino connect to BIM?



How do you connect a workflow based in Rhinoceros with a BIM platform? This demand is growing in large architecture firms and multidisciplinary firms from the AEC industry. So what is going on? 

Rhino is a powerful tool for designers in different professions including architecture, construction, and the AEC industry. The challenge happens when designers or professionals working in Rhino need to adapt to the BIM requirements of colleagues working within the same company.

BIM is not known for being designer-friendly.  But Eugenio Fontan from Enzyme Architecture Office claims that even though BIM is a tool that is not easy to use, it will enhance your design. 

So how do you connect Rhino with BIM? Eugenio explores several potential workflows. 
  • Rhinoceros – Grasshopper – Archicad
  • Rhinoceros – Archicad
  • Rhinoceros (VisualARQ) – IFC
  • Rhinoceros (Geometry Gym) – IFC
  • Rhinoceros (Rhynamo) – Revit
Enzyme believes that connecting such a powerful design tool with the most efficient and smart workflow for the industry is crucial to achieving your best design and bringing it to reality.


RoboDK - robot programming in Rhino and Grasshopper


RoboDK is offline programming software for industrial robots. It is used by professionals in many industries, including aeronautics, automotive, art, and architecture, to name just a few application areas.


There are many benefits to using RoboDK. For example, if you work in manufacturing, one of the biggest benefits is that with the software you can program the robot without interrupting production. This saves time and money. Or, if you work in product design or architecture, the biggest benefit may be the ease of programming and the huge flexibility provided by using a robot to construct your prototypes.
RoboDK makes it very easy to turn CAD models into robot code. It supports over 300 robot models from over 30 manufacturers, which you can access in the Robot Library.  

Parametric Design Workshop at LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture - Berlin)


Are you interested in gaining Parametric competency to push your design skills to the next level?

Are you ready to learn a very exciting and powerful tool that will take your ideas and concepts to a whole new realm?

This series of Parametric Design Workshops (Beginners and Advanced) by Wassef Dabboussi (Berlin, September 2018) will provide you with the necessary knowledge and ability to use Grasshopper, a free visual programming plugin in Rhinoceros. The workshop will also include a hands-on parametric project.


Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Parametric Robot Control with Grasshopper and KUKA and Conference




Rhino3DColombia and UPB's RhinoFabStudio is hosting a Parametric Robot Control Workshop with Grasshopper and KUKA!


Date: August 8-10, 2018
Time: 8 AM-12 noon
Price: Free entry with prior registration

Instructor: Francisco Quitral, Architect and Professor in the Department of Engineering in Design and Architecture at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (USM) in Valparaíso, Chile 

Location: Bloque 8 Laboratorio de Fabricación Digital
RhinoFabStudio - Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana
Medellín, Colombia

The workshop will range from graphic programming with Grasshopper, applied parametric control of the robot, to the execution in the practical experience of handling a KUKA robot, applied in advanced manufacturing processes.


Also, join us for the August 9th Conference in  Robots in Architecture, Art and Design, led by Francisco Javier Quitral Zapata. The conference will deal with the new opportunities that robotic manufacturing opens up for architecture, art and design, in a review of the world-renowned developments, and in particular, the teaching and research experiences of USM at Valparaíso, Chile.


For more information please contact
Andres Felipe Franco by email or call 574-4123015.



What is a RhinoFabStudio? 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.

Monday, July 23, 2018

Structural mechanics for jawbone reconstruction surgery


The student Crysta Frank is using Scan&Solve to study jawbone regrowth after surgery. When is it safe to chew again?

Scan&Solve helped in analyzing important information about the mechanical properties of a healing jawbone.

Surgery is a common treatment for oral cancer. When the cancer tumor has grown into the bone, then part of the jawbone is removed. Using Scan&Solve Pro, Crysta Frank studied the mechanical properties of bone in the jawbone related to surgery.

Crysta used Scan&Solve Pro to compare the mechanical properties of the healing bones during chewing.  She wanted to see how the mechanical properties of the mandible changed during chewing and when the patient can safely chew again.

According to Crysta, "Scan&Solve is ideal for the studies because it supports assemblies and also doesn’t require converting the mandible model to a finite element mesh, which can be hard for such complex geometry."

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Form2fab at Fab14 Conference in Toulouse (France) - July 16-22


Each year members of the more than 1,200 worldwide Fab Labs gather to share, discuss, collaborate and create communities around the different local and global interests of digital manufacturing, innovation, and technology.

This year, the FAB14+ conference takes place in Toulouse, France, July 16-22 at the Pierre Baudis Convention Center with “Fabricating Resilience” as its central topic.


Form2fab, Authorized Rhino Reseller and Trainer, will be exhibiting (stand CH13) and holding a series of workshops on Digital Design and Fabrication with Grasshopper. Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about generative design and digital fabrication!


Tuesday, July 17, 2018

RhinoNC, now compatible with Rhino 6



Version 1.4 of RhinoNC is now available and compatible with Rhino 6 at 64-bit.

RhinoNC is the modular CAM for every 2.5 to 5 axis milling requirement. Due to the different needs of manufacturing companies, the software is designed with the flexibility necessary to respond over time to the growing demand for end-user performance. Companies that currently have simple needs might keep using RhinoNC in the future by adding the planned functions or strategies, thus enhancing it from time to time.



Monday, July 16, 2018

Cove.tool - Optimizing energy costs


Do your energy choices make a difference in your building design? Find out with the cove.tool plugin.

This Rhino/Grasshopper plugin churns through building performance calculations and design options to weigh the energy costs vs. optimization. You can use cost optimization to select the highest performing building for the least cost.

Cove.tool recently improved its energy modeling plugin with its Architecture 2030 dashboard. Architecture 2030 directly links to the API to log the firm's performance. Cove.tool also added parametric Grasshopper workflow definitions.

For more information see The Architect's Newspaper or go directly to cove.tool...






Friday, July 13, 2018

AEC Tech 2018 for October 25-28



Thursday, October 25 – Sunday, October 28
New York

Come meet the many people who continue to push the cutting edge of technology in the architecture and engineering. Join CORE studio at Thornton Tomasetti, Inc. for AEC Tech 2018: Interpolations!

Tech 2018, its sixth annual event, is a four-day experience for professionals in the AEC industry and more! The 2018 theme, Interpolations, focuses on the injection of innovative processes, technologies, and workflows that are rerouting the way the industry works, designs, and thinks.


Thursday, July 12, 2018

T2.a Architects design customizable apartments


The Hungarian architects, T2.a Architects, use Rhino and Grasshopper to design a configurable apartment complex.

DANUBIO, located on FOKA Bay on the Danube, is a new residential development in Budapest.

Its uniqueness is its customizable floor plans. Before purchasing, residents can define the design by how much floor space they want, their outdoor-indoor ratio, and the orientation of their home. Using Grasshopper enabled the architects to develop a script for the algorithm. The design is adjusted during the design process when a new resident enters the community.

Read the ArchDaily article to see some new concepts in mass customization...

Just published! Computational Design in Landscape Architecture

For landscape architects:

Codify: Parametric and Computational Design in Landscape Architecture
by Bradley Cantrell and Adam Mekies

Codify is a series of essays that explores what it means to use, modify, and create computational tools in a contemporary design environment.

Essays written by leading academics and professionals provide snapshots of digital practice. 

The sections examine the role of computational tools in landscape architecture through historical accounts, theoretical arguments, and potential. Filled with case studies that include scripting and digital analysis, the implementation of smart algorithms, and custom applications, the book leads you to new methods of organizing, understanding and quantifying data that allow for smarter, sustainable landscape architecture. 

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Access Rhino geometry through the cloud


Robert McNeel & Associates has introduced Rhino Compute Work in Progress.

Rhino Compute is a cloud-accessible geometry calculator for developers. Compute allows access to the Rhino's geometry library through a stateless REST API via the McNeel cloud. You can access 2400+ RhinoCommon API calls from outside Rhino as an online web service, including:
  • Closest point calculations
  • Intersection calculations
  • Surface tessellation (meshing)
  • Interpolation
  • Booleans
  • Area and mass property calculations
  • Other miscellaneous geometry calculations
To find out more go to Rhino Compute services...


Monday, July 9, 2018

Advanced Design Workshop by Luigi Memola - London - August 14, 2018



London, UK
August 14, 2018, from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM

The Advanced Design Workshop is a special event brought to you by Luigi Memola, 3D Artist and Concept Designer. Luigi explains his process and techniques used in the creation of his personal work. He will cover topics on the design process, addressing the designer’s need to increase the quality of their work and reduce communication time of an idea from one department to another. He will also push designers to research and develop the appropriate tools and techniques to enhance the creative process.


Wednesday, July 4, 2018

BtoBIM event in Nantes /France), July 5, 2018


Rhinoforyou, Authorized Rhino Reseller, will show the latest news about Rhino, Grasshopper, and VisualARQ at BtoBIM (Thursday, July 5, 2018, at Icam Nantes), at booth nº3.

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Conveyor - an advanced Rhino file importer for Revit




Proving Ground has another tool for you.

Proving Ground's custom software development kit connects Rhino and its geometry and computational design platform with Revit and its building information modeling platform. 

Learn more here: https://provingground.io/tools/conveyor/

Or watch the YouTube demo...

Monday, July 2, 2018

BIM conference at USC

BIM BOP 2018


This is a great conference to catch up on the current state of BIM with a double track of presentations and expert speakers in architecture, engineering, and construction. See how the integration of many digital tools has affected both large and small projects.

See a stellar line-up of over 30 speakers and earn 5 AIA CEUs.

The Twelfth Annual USC BIM Conference
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
USC, School of Architecture, Los Angeles, CA, USA