Friday, October 14, 2011

YETI 3D - live programming environment for Rhino3D





Yeti is an opensource, live programming environment for Rhino.

Using Yeti you can build a parametric model through code and see changes instantly.

Yeti is still a work in progress and only offers a very basic geometry library at the moment, but you can improve it by contributing to the C# codebase over at bitbucket.

Design To Production



"designtoproduction

We support architects, planners, engineers, and contractors
in the efficient design and production of non-standard architecture.

designtoproduction implements digital process chains from design to production based on parametric CAD-models and offers consulting services for parametric planning, detailing, optimization, and digital manufacturing."

RFR Ingénieurs



"RFR is an engineering company that specialises in the design of complex structures and of sophisticated envelopes, in intimate symbiosis with the physical character of the building concerned. Its competence goes far beyond construction techniques alone, to attain the creation of the elegant structures that reconcile engineering and architecture.

The work of RFR is founded on mastery of the technical tools and of the associated scientific concepts. Its use of the most advanced computer applications and exploitation of the most recent technologies enable the company to generate a synthesis of construction parameters which lead to solutions that are at once rigorousinnovative and efficient.

RFR was founded in Paris in 1982 by Peter Rice, and is also based at Stuttgart in Germany, at Shanghai in China, and at Abu Dhabi in the Emirates. The firm has distinguished itself over the intervening years on many projects, executed in every part of the world. The wide range of skills possessed by its staff, composed of engineers, architects and industrials designers, enable it to operate in very diverse contexts, and to use the widest variety of materials.

RFR has been able to design structures of high quality, intended for unique locations like the Musée du Louvre or the Louis Vuitton store on the avenue des Champs Elysées in Paris, the Capitol in Washington, the Irish Parliament building in
Dublin, or the library of the Indian Parliament in new Delhi.

RFR interprets its calling in terms of a global vision that is synonymous with quality."

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Smarchitecture - Blog



"This blog is maintained and predominantly written by Dr. Thomas Modeen, partner of smArchitecture, which he founded with his wife Maysaa Al-Mumin in Kuwait in the Fall of 2008. The practice also has a base, and its origins, in London, where it's known as Independent Architects, which is headed by Paul Brady and Eng Ling Ho. The blog aims to provide a personalized outline of all our practice and discipline related escapades. smArchitecture is a research based architecture and design practice that retains a equal and collaborative footing within both practice and academia, with strong links to various academic and research facilities around the world. Our current interest involve the use of various computing based design methods and tools in the realization of physical builds (using both subtractive and additive CAD-CAM methods)."

adapa - adapting architecture



"ADAPA is a cross disciplinary company where the focus is on adapting technology and materials that have untapped potentials into an architectural context.

We are a small research based architectural practice, where we use research both to reposition ourselves and simultaneously to create projects that give us a completely different approach than other architectural firms.

We believe that the ability to design free, affordable and sustainable lies in the ability to understand and make full use of the latest technologies and production methods and introduce them as the basis for modern architecture."

Robots in Architecture





"The international Association for Robots in Architecture is originally a spin off association of Vienna University of Technology. Its goal is to make industrial robots accessible for the creative industry, artists, designers and architects, by sharing ideas, research results and technological developments.

Founded in December 2010 by Sigrid Brell-Cokcan and Johannes Braumann, robots in architecture is an open platform for everybody interested in the creative use of and innovative fabrication with industrial robots.

Robots in Architecture is engaged in applied research, soft- and hardware development, “robot pedagogics” – and in the question: how soon will robots revolutionize architecture?

We pursue the association’s goal by offering workshops and holding lectures at international conferences, schools, and universities, and by maintaining the Robots in Architecture homepage, which serves as a hub for all things robotic in architecture, art, and design."


D-Shape


"The 21st century revolution in building technology has a name. D-Shape.
The mega scale free-form printer of buildings.
What couldn't be done, now can be done."


"D-Shape is a new robotic building system using new materials to create superior stone-like structures.

This new machinery enables full-size sandstone buildings to be made without human intervention, using a stereolithography 3-D printing process that requires only sand and our special inorganic binder to operate. D-Shape is a new building technology which will revolutionize the way architectural design is planned, and building constructions are executed. By simply pressing the “enter” key on the keypad we intend to give the architect the possibility to make buildings directly, without intermediaries who can add interpretation and realization mistakes."

BLOCK Research Group



The Block Research Group is a scientific and educational platform around group head Prof. Dr. Philippe Block (ETH - Zurich).


Equilibrium
http://www.block.arch.ethz.ch/equilibrium


"In eQUILIBRIUM, the design and analysis of structures are taught through interactive, graphic statics-based drawings created with GeoGebra rather than text and equations.

Graphic statics is a powerful method for the design and analysis of structures that, by using force polygons and simple geometric construction techniques, provides intuitive visual information about the relation between form and forces in a structural system."


RhinoVAULT - designing funicular form in Rhino

http://www.block.arch.ethz.ch/tools

"RhinoVAULT is a plug-in for Rhinoceros® being developed at the BLOCK Research Group by Matthias Rippmann, Lorenz Lachauer and Philippe Block, that allows for the intuitive design of compression-only shapes, offering a maximum control of the geometry. This software is written particularly for shaping unreinforced masonry vaults, but can also be used for designing efficient freeform shells. Based on the Thrust Network Approach (TNA), which uses a force network as discretization of the shape, it is possible to internally redistribute forces within the network using force diagrams. This enables the user to generate exciting forms far beyond typical "hanging-net" morphologies."