La Comtesselation renovation - La Drôme, France (by STERLING PRESSER Architects + Engineers)

La Comtesselation renovation - La Drôme, France
by STERLING PRESSER Architects + Engineers

Located on a sacred site in the Drôme, France, La Comtesse is a renovation project that bridges ancestral wisdom and local know-how with contemporary design through an intervention titled Comtesselation (Comtesse + Constellation).

The project seeks to inscribe a celestial map onto a traditional stone dwelling, treating the architectural act as a contemporary rite of alignment that rehabilitates the existing structure, renewing it with respect for local craftsmanship and history. The design joins the solid, rectangular stone base with a new organic form—revealing the site’s spirit rather than changing it.

The two-pitched roof complies with local regulations, but softens into a gentle curve that flows outward into a wooden pergola. This fluid extension opens the home toward the landscape, blending structure and nature. This wooden mesh acts as an elongated pergola, using fluid geometry to extend the roof's capacity as an awning au vent, balancing cosmic elevation with terrestrial grounding. Every joint and curve corresponds to a point in an imagined constellation, reflecting the sacred energy integrated through Kogi principles and the rhythm of the universe. 

Sustainability comes through careful use of materials: the original stone is preserved and repurposed, reducing waste and giving new life to the structure as a spiritual and enduring threshold between the human and cosmic worlds.

"To execute these complex, organic forms and ensure every joint aligns with the intended celestial symbolism, we utilize Rhino to generate a precise digital model that provides the technical framework for a local carpenter to realize the intricate timber engineering."

Details... 

Timber Segmented shell in Pyrenees by MPDA BarcelonaTech

The MPDA Master’s program at UPC School concludes each year with a built project that brings together innovation, sustainability, and community engagement. 

This edition took place in Alp, a mountain town in the Catalan Pyrenees, where students and faculty fully designed, engineered,  and built a new sports pavilion as a lightweight public structure for the local community.

Developed in just four months, the project combined computational design in Grasshopper, structural analysis with Karamba3D, and digital fabrication via Cadwork to create an efficient segmented timber shell. The structure is formed by planar n-gon modules shaped as an antifunicular ribbed system, with optimized joints and a fabrication process that balanced precision, structural performance, and manufacturability. Components were produced with CNC machining at Tallfusta and LaserPenta, and pre-assembled before transport.

The final construction in Alp took place over one intensive week, during which students and faculty installed the foundation, assembled the prefabricated elements, and placed the protective membrane. Beyond the pavilion itself, the project offered a full-scale learning experience that connected advanced parametric design with real construction, leaving behind a sustainable and meaningful space for the town.

Credits

• Collaborator institution: Alp Municipality
• Students: Khalid Abbood, Bilgenur Balkiz, Mihir Bhamare, Agustina Couzier, Arvind Das, Rahel Degu, Helly Desai, Youssef Essam, Davis Gan, Sara Guessous, Pravin Kandasamy, Maciej Król, Dana Mneimneh, Jaume Monclús, Nathaly Osorio, Tomás Pérez, Sayed Sanobar, Sena Sezer, Damla Şişman, Anna Solà, Maria Tzavida, Martin Uquillas, Mehad Yasser.
• Faculty: Gerard Bertomeu, Quim Escoda, Enrique Soriano, Pep Tornabell, Rafael Hellín, Bruno García.
• Guest Professors: Almudena Majano, Antonio Lara, Matthew Tam, Simon Vorhammer
• Sponsors: Rothoblaas, Festool
• Fabrication Partners: Tallfusta, Sumeplast, Garnica, Laserpenta, Piloedre, Tecnodimension
• Software partners: Karamba3D, Cadwork
• Acknowledgments: Maria Tiana, Topografía Cerdanya, and always to Daniel Piker
• Photography: Andrés Flajszer, Arvind Das

MPDA Master’s program at UPC School

Over ten successful editions, MPDA has trained new generations of computational designers from around the world, many of whom now work at leading international design and engineering offices.

Want to enroll? The next information session will be held on April 14th at 14:00.

MPDA is a 60 ECTS one-year program, 4 months online and 5 months in person. During the program, you will learn advanced computational design tools and apply them to the design and construction of a numerically optimized, digitally fabricated building.

Casa Ecológica Campeche by Affonso Orciuoli + Marcelo Leal, arquitetos

"EcoHouse is a small house located on a plot very close to Campeche beach, on the island of Florianopolis, Brazil. It seeks to minimize the impact of construction, both in terms of interference with the landscape and the materials used. Except for the foundations (reinforced concrete), the entire house was built with autoclaved treated pine wood, and some walls were clad with plasterboard. The carpentry is aluminum, with mosquito screens, promoting cross-ventilation.

Another important aspect was building the smallest possible house to free up land for the garden. It has a living room with a home office space, dining room, and kitchen—all in one integrated area. This space opens onto a balcony and a deck that connects the house with the outside. The goal was to create a certain "confusion," where you don't know if you are inside or outside the house, or inside or outside the property. We believe in a continuous, integrated space. The bathroom is on the ground floor, and the bedroom, also without doors, is on the upper floor.

The timber frame construction process allowed for a lightweight yet high-quality build with excellent thermal and acoustic comfort. We used "rock wool" as insulation. When studying the best solution for rainwater, we noticed a tendency for people to cement the ground, which causes flooding because the soil cannot absorb the rain. Flooding is typical in Floripa on rainy days. So, we created a 40 cm layer with construction debris, which was practically free. When it rains, this "mattress" absorbs the rainwater, creating a natural drainage system that allows the earth to "dialogue" with the high-water table due to the proximity of the beach.

The house has a green roof and a large tropical garden on the ground. From above, what you see is a large green spot. Therefore, we do not interfere with the natural process of the rainwater cycle.

As a concept, the main idea is to minimize the boundary between being inside and outside. The house opens to the garden and the street, contrary to the trend of high walls with security systems. It aims to be as transparent as possible and to establish a dialogue with the neighborhood. This is the only way to build a city.

In terms of project development, we chose to use Rhino and VisualARQ. We were obsessed with having exhaustive control over all the materials used to generate the minimum amount of waste. In this sense, the material lists that VisualARQ generated were fundamental. VisualARQ also helped define the construction steps. We were able to complete the construction in 2 months with 3 people on-site.

EcoHouse aims to be an alternative for sustainable construction, rationalizing the materials used and the speed of execution. At the same time, it re-evaluates the amount of space a home needs. In its natural life cycle, it can be easily expanded, with the goal of reusing its materials."

Affonso Orciuoli + Marcelo Leal, arquitetos

Complete details (in Portuguese)...

Window Atlas Graz & Door Atlas Graz – 3D Documentation of Architectural Elements

TU Graz would like to share two recent publications: Fensteratlas Graz and Türatlas Graz, edited by Milena Stavric, Urs Hirschberg, and Britta Nader at Graz University of Technology. 

The books document a wide range of historic windows and doors from Graz, reconstructed through detailed 3D models and analytical drawings. The elements are carefully modeled to reveal their construction logic and components—from window frames and shutters to door panels, handles, hinges, locks, and opening mechanisms.

The atlases combine 3D visualizations, exploded views, typological comparisons, and construction details, offering a useful reference for architects, educators, and students interested in precise architectural modeling.

The books are available as free e-books, and printed editions can also be ordered.

Window Atlas free e-book... 

Door Atlas free e-book... 

Window Atlas printed edition... 

Door Atlas printed edition... 

Grasshopper UK UGM March 2024 – Meeting Notes and Recording

On Wednesday, March 6th, 2024, Simply Rhino held the Grasshopper UK User Group Meeting at The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. This free event was kindly hosted by the AA [EMTECH} team and delivered to a busy room at their London base.

We have made a full meeting report and invite you to view it below. We hope this is useful for those who were not able to attend and those who joined us but would enjoy a reminder of the presentations. Our thanks to Luca Biselli for his help with the write-up of this meeting.

Meeting notes...

Recording...

The Flowing Bridge, Entrance outdoor theatre footbridge, Taiyuan, China, by Sterling Presser Architects+Engineers

Copyright Rex Zou

The Flowing Bridge (by Sterling Presser Architects+Engineers) is a unique infrastructure project designed as an entrance to the Taiyuan outdoor theatre and a strategic connection to the whole park above the river Xiahoe meander. The bridge is conceived as an invitation to the arts and the entire composition is a sequence. Its indirect path allows the visitor to arrive from the side and discover the water step by step. The concept is to design a connection to the car park in harmony with the lotus pattern of the landscape and the outer theatre.

The balustrades are a specific feature using parametric design. It has been developed as a vibrant artistic surface to provide quality within the public space. The bespoke Grasshopper definition enabled a visual and differentiated effect. It is designed to be visually abstract using a moiré definition, which underlines the curved concept and plays with the natural light. The railing reads at different speeds, whether it is perceived by pedestrians, cyclists, or light VIP vehicles, and creates an ever-changing feel.

Two grids shift parametrically while keeping the code requirement of a minimum of 110 mm between elements for safety. Sterling Presser used Rhino geometry definition of the whole project to deliver a 3D coordinated construction information package for the local contractor.

Alienometry by Peter Donders

Peter Donders has been kind enough to share his latest "Alienometry" models, all done in SubD, imagining how aliens could look.

"The gold armor mask is to make them look more human,

no arms, no legs, all is mind controlled.

They hover on whatever gravity is available on whatever planet. They transport in the Mech Eggs.

Bringing the message, "There is no time only from point A to point B; the faster you can move, the less 'time' you need to get there." You could have been there in quantum space even before you went there.

The physical model will be 3D printed and hand-finished blue silver leaf and gold leaf, and come in two sizes: small 224 x 113 x 314mm and big 448 x 226 x 628mm. Available on demand.

Àgora València (by Arqueha + Miguel Arraiz)

The Arqueha studio, coordinator of Plan Zero for the climate transition of three neighborhoods in the city of Valencia, has been in charge of the project's technical development, applying prefabrication and sustainability parameters. With digitization through the BIM methodology and parametric design, it has been possible to turn a unique building into a reality.

The use of parametric design applied to the enclosure has provided the ability to generate a fully controlled distribution of slats, choosing the density and position of each one in the racks and obtaining a unique design for each rack.

This has been possible thanks to Rhino.Inside Revit, which has allowed working in a coordinated manner with Grasshopper and Revit to generate both the geometry and its associated parameters that have been attributed differently to each of the more than 1000 pieces that make up the racks.

Thanks to these processes, the waste generated, the work carried out and the transport of materials have been reduced, saving significant amounts of CO2 and energy. Àgora València is also a space studied following thermal comfort strategies.

The 3D model used for analyzing sunlight and outdoor comfort has been extracted directly from the BIM model and processed with Ladybug.

A project as unique as Ágora València, with the high level of detail it presents, as well as the precision required in coordinating industrialized elements produced by different agents, would not have been possible without the use of Rhinoceros.

Complete project info (in Spanish)...

Grasshopper blog series (by Packhunt.io)

Are you ready to embark on a journey to expand your Grasshopper knowledge? 

Follow the Packhunt.io blog series to discover all things Grasshopper related— tips, tricks & tutorials!

Packhunt.io was developed with Grasshopper and other parametric applications in mind.

With Packhunt.io, you can upload your 3D Grasshopper model and, for example, integrate it into your company's web environment. It is always accessible online.

Open Sky/Oasiz (by ARCHIOLOGICS)

Adolfo Nadal from ARCHIOLOGICS has been kind enough to share his recent project Open Sky/Oasiz, modeled with the help of Rhino and Grasshopper:

At ARCHIOLOGICS, we conceive each project as a process thought and designed to meet the expectations, tastes and needs of each profile. We combine design and construction with the highest levels of precision through a workflow based on virtual models, true digital twins for construction. We are able to combine the most advanced industrialization and design systems with the customization of each design and work thanks to our Rhino-based, tailor-made solutions. Whether you are looking for a pure geometric or textured design, specific sizes or proposals, or a bright and striking aesthetic, our team of professionals will develop the best version for your needs.

From design to construction

Our façade solutions highlight the value of material and geometry through fully customized computational processes. We optimize investment and minimize costs thanks to early analysis and rationalization of the geometry, improving its constructive and aesthetic potential. All this can be achieved by harvesting the native power of Rhinoceros' NURBS geometry core and the extended functionality we add by means of Grasshopper and the software's API. In this particular case, we were able to develop more than 22000sqm of unique panels seamlessly integrating design and construction procedures, such as surface rationalization, structure optimization, and drawing automation, including a wide variety of planar, curved, and double curved geometries.

At Oasiz, we provide value to this raw material to the extent that it becomes a truly unmatched design. Unique products are combined with geometric cladding and vitreous finishes, adopting the essence of industrial and minimalist environments for a project that seeks to stand out by itself.

Complete details...

Record setting 3D printed installation—bECOme by Arturo Tedeschi

On December 2, 2021, Adidas opened the doors of its most sustainable flagship store to date under the motto Renew Berlin. The three-story, 1400m² store stands for regionality, sustainability, and the brand’s deep roots in sports. 

The store features the project bECOme, a 3D printed installation created by designer Arturo Tedeschi (@arturotedeschi) using more than 300 kg of recycled plastic. The suspended 17-meters long sculpture symbolizes the urgent commitment to turn waste into resources, passing through different transformation processes. It also expresses an attitude that considers plastic-waste-ending a mission through communication, education, and daily actions. The sculpture itself is a sustainability statement as it was made using recycled plastic turned into PLA filaments implemented in the printing process.

Rhino and Grasshopper have been used to create the original 3D model used for further development and 3D printing.

Credits:

• Project title: bECOme
• Where: Adidas Flagship Store Berlin
• Design: Arturo Tedeschi
• Fabrication: F.G. Meier GmbH
• Finishing: Sebastian Eberlein
• Photos: Hannes Jahreis

Read more about the project...

Skopelab launches audio-reactive Christmas trees

Skopelab, specialists in Audio-Reactive Computational Design, is growing Christmas trees that move to the sound of seasonal greetings. Developed within Rhino and Grasshopper, the home-grown algorithm allows fine control of tree movement, bauble size, color, and color gradient effects.

At www.dancingwishes.com, clients can upload video, text and logos through a simple process, which are then integrated into the tree design. A unique webpage is then created for each client, accessed by link or by scanning the QR code at the tree base.

Designed for both individuals to share their wishes with friends and family or for businesses to send their seasonal greetings to clients in an innovative way.

Enjoy!

Re-Emerge Pavilion, a collaboration between AA [EmTech] and Hassell

Photography: Studio NAARO

Architectural Association (AA) Emergent Technologies & Design (EmTech) Post-Graduate Programme and Hassell in London have collaborated to create a new pavilion in Bedford Square.

EmTech Post-Graduate Programme at the Architectural Association has a long history in designing and creating structures and pavilions. This year’s pavilion is titled Re-Emerge and is the first time since the pandemic that the students could closely work together, fabricate and assemble a full-scale structure.

For this collaboration, Hassell gave the students the challenge to keep the project's carbon footprint to an absolute minimum and therefore only use reclaimed timber.

Xavier De Kestelier, Head of Design at Hassell, said, “The students really took on the challenge with both hands and decided early on to build the pavilion out of timber from reclaimed wooden pallets.”

The Re-Emerge pavilion explores new design and construction technologies that repurpose materials that have completed their first life cycle towards innovative structural formations. The project addresses themes of generative design, material computation, large-scale fabrication and assembly technologies, emphasizing the pavilion's ecological impact from the early phases of the design process onwards.

Re-emerge revives the tradition of building on Bedford Square as a collaboration between an academic programme at the AA and partners from the world of practice to test ideas at scale and imagine new possibilities.

Dr. Elif Erdine, Director of the EmTech Program, said, "This collaboration with Hassell demonstrates a successful illustration of how academia and practice can come together to discover novel solutions to complex spatial and material problems. With the support of our other sponsors, BuroHappold Engineering and One Click LCA, EmTech and Hassell explored new design and construction technologies for repurposing timber."

She added, "As designers, architects, and engineers, we share the responsibility to maintain a mindful approach towards our environment while designing and building. Our mutual insight into how construction waste can be a useful resource has originated this research into repurposing timber for an outdoor structure that is lightweight, emphasizing the project’s ecological impact from the early phases of the design process."

Complete details about the Re-Emerge Pavilion...

The EMTECH (Emergent Technologies and Design Programme) is a post-professional graduate degree at the Architectural Association open to graduates in architecture and engineering who wish to develop skills and pursue knowledge in architectural design science located in new production paradigms. EMTECH investigates new synergies of architecture and ecology through the critical intersection of computational design and fabrication. 

EMTECH Graduate programme 2022-23 registration now open...

The evolving history of La Sagrada Familia: From ashes to masterpiece

If you have traveled to Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia was most likely on your must-see list. Started in 1882, the unique and ever-evolving church has a fascinating construction history.

In the 1990s, when we out-of-towners first visited La Sagrada Familia, it was roofless with a few volunteer contractors milling around. It appeared to be a project destined to creep along in our lifetimes. But instead, it has achieved phenomenal progress and engineering design.

ArchDaily documented a nice history of the building of the Sagrada Familia.

It's now functioning as a church, with a projected finish date of 2026. 

The Sagrada Familia is still a must-see.

From Handcrafted Stone to 3D Printing: The Technological and Material Evolution of Gaudí's Sagrada Familia...