Custom Tools for Rhino/Grasshopper
As computational designer at CO Architects, much of my time went to developing digital tools for design automation.
Topo Tools
This is a Grasshopper toolset to automate several early-phase tasks for most projects: rebuilding an imported topographic mesh as a Rhino NURBS surface, placing simple massing forms onto a site, and generating a rough estimate of cut and fill volume from a given configuration. Metrics are displayed on screen via the Human plug-in for quick screen grabs or outputting higher-quality images.
With the exception of the occasional Python node, everything in the tools are packaged as Grasshopper clusters for full transparency and easy changes or fixes by users. Everything is included in the zip file below, including a Read Me and example files for Rhino and Grasshopper. A drag-and-drop install on the Grasshopper canvas will create a new tab in Grasshopper, but this can be changed as well.
Support for multiple massings on a toposurface with a mix of cut and fill available for each, as well as a site total.
The toolset is Grasshopper clusters, rather than C# components, and can be easily modified as needed. Beyond cut and fill calculations, the surface generation components help automate the creation of a clean starting point from an imported SketchUp, OpenCAD, or Revit geometry mesh.
Cut/Fill graphic display and metrics update in real time, enabling quick testing and comparison of different scenarios for massing location, size, shape, and elevation.
View Access Tool
This analysis tool has developed over several years and different offices, starting with my work at Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign, with continued evolution at CO Architects. Development did not occur along a single trajectory and instead sought to remain generic enough to be quickly adapted to the unique situations presented by various projects. The intent of the most recent iteration — the ‘view voxels’ studies below — was to maximize the automation of the analysis with minimal inputs, rather than attempting to optimize a design element. But the ability of the tool to deliver a numerical view score for a particular design or design feature lent itself to working with iterative design studies, whether by design teams or algorithms.
This tool can also be applied to more detailed building facades or existing fenestration to align with view access needs in a building plan.
