The rhombitrihexagonal tiling is one of the semi-regular tessellations. It is composed of regular hexagons, squares, and triangles. It is a periodic tessellation since you can copy the fundamental unit and move it across the plane to generate the tiling. I use this quality of the tiling to draw and expand it in Rhinoceros software. This is a basic drawing exercise. At the same time, it is a nice exercise […]

The snub square tiling is one of the semi-regular tessellations, where regular triangles and squares match perfectly to fill the plane without gaps or overlaps. The Euclidean construction of Snub Square tiling is possible by utilizing the basic compass and straightedge operations. I made this construction in Rhinoceros to show that there is no need for any numerical input to locate the points and draw the tiling. There are two […]

This work emerged out of necessity. In the design and application process of wooden frame structures, where we put thousands of pieces together like a puzzle, the issue of preparing and updating quantity and measurement lists requires the most effort. Hours spent on this and the possibility of making mistakes are very high. However, with the Quantity Surveyor I developed in Grasshopper, you can generate measurement lists almost in real-time. […]

The regular dodecahedron is one of the five Platonic solids, characterized by having 12 regular pentagonal faces, 20 vertices, and 30 edges. When you elongate it, you extend its structure in one or more directions, resulting in a shape that retains the basic properties of the dodecahedron but is stretched out. The elongated dodecahedron might not catch your eye at first—it’s just a long version of a shape you’ve probably […]

Today’s computational curve is the beautiful Sierpinski Triangle. It is a fractal named after the Polish mathematician Waclaw Sierpinski, who described it in 1915, though it had been previously described by other mathematicians. It is a self-replicating pattern that arises from a simple recursive process. To construct the fractal, you start with an equilateral triangle and then repeatedly remove smaller equilateral triangles from its interior, leaving holes. Each iteration involves […]

This is a 3d modeling tutorial for the platonic solid of dodecahedron. Modeling a dodecahedron is a good exercise for the basic transformation commands such as Rotate3D in Rhinoceros. You will see that it is possible to calculate the rotation angle by using sphere intersections. I learned this elegant method while teaching Architectural Geometry classes 12 years ago. It is based on the fact that, given a rotation axis and […]

The rhombic dodecahedron is a polyhedron with twelve rhombus-shaped faces, where each face has four sides of equal length. It is possible to construct the space-filling variant of the rhombic dodecahedron by arranging multiple such rhombic dodecahedra in a regular pattern so that they fill space without leaving any gaps. In his 1611 work on snowflakes titled “Strena seu de Nive Sexangula,” Johannes Kepler observed that honey bees utilize the […]

Lissajous curves, named after the French physicist Jules Antoine Lissajous are a family of curves that emerge from the interaction between two harmonic oscillations. They have applications in various fields including physics, engineering, and signal processing. They are commonly used in electronic devices such as oscilloscopes to visualize the phase relationship between two oscillating signals. Similarly, they are also useful in mechanical engineering for analyzing and designing mechanisms that involve […]

This is a short video tutorial on the B-Spline decomposition I studied earlier here. This tutorial demonstrates how to decompose a B-Spline curve into Bezier curves using Rhino. Despite the original Bezier-de Casteljau algorithm requiring degree+1 control points, Rhino allows drawing a degree-3 curve with any number of control points. By examining knot points and dividing segments appropriately, the B-Spline curve can be manually subdivided into Bezier curves. This involves […]

In this short tutorial, I am going to show you how to locate a parametric point on a Bezier curve. This will be a third-degree cubic Bezier curve. So, I start by placing four control points. I name these points from P0 to P3. Then, I connect them by a polyline in order. I explode the polyline into the segments. The parameter of my point must be a number between […]

Geodesic refers to the shortest path between two points on a curved surface. It is based on the principles of geodesy, which is the science of measuring the Earth’s shape. On the other hand, in architecture and design, a geodesic dome is a spherical or hemispherical structure consisting of a network of geodesic lines (great-circle arcs) forming triangles. Therefore, the dome’s framework provides strength and stability, distributing stress throughout its […]

Stellated polyhedra are three-dimensional geometric shapes formed by extending the faces of a regular polyhedron (a solid with flat faces) beyond their original boundaries until they intersect with each other. The term “stellate” comes from the Latin word “stella,” meaning star and these polyhedra often have a star-like appearance due to their extended faces. They are popular because of their aesthetic qualities. I studied these forms many times before. This […]

De Boor’s algorithm, a maestro of basis spline refinement, meticulously navigates through knots, unraveling the intricacies of B-splines with mathematical precision. Meanwhile, De Casteljau, the geometric orchestrator, takes center stage in the Bezier ballet, elegantly guiding control points through a recursive dance. Together, these algorithms fuse art and mathematics, seamlessly sculpting curves and splines with technical finesse, creating a harmonious symphony of numerical intricacies in computational geometry. ChatGPT is so […]

In 2016, archi-union architects and fab-union intelligent engineering completed the renovation of the art gallery in Shanghai, China. The distinctive feature of the building was the robotic masonry fabrication of the brick facades. The undulating and waving parametric bricks were increasingly becoming popular after the introduction of parametric design tools such as Grasshopper and the works of Gramazio & Kohler at ETH Zurich since 2008, I guess. I made two […]

“Mihr-î Mah” in Ottoman Turkish translates to “The Sun and The Moon” in English. She was the most powerful imperial princess in Ottoman history according to historians. The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is located in Üsküdar district of Istanbul. It was built for Mihrimah Sultan, the daughter of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman and Hürrem Sultan. It is one of the early works of the architect Mimar Sinan. Sinan supported the main dome […]

The Hilbert Curve, also referred to as the Hilbert space-filling curve, was initially introduced by the German mathematician David Hilbert in 1891. It is a continuous fractal curve, presenting a variation of the space-filling Peano curves uncovered by Giuseppe Peano in 1890. After a study on the mathematical background of this curve, I implemented a Python code into Grasshopper Python. However, I wanted to explore more variations by playing with […]

Catalan Solids are the duals of Archimedean Solids. They were first described by mathematician Eugène Charles Catalan in the 19th century. There are 13 Catalan solids, and they exhibit interesting symmetries and unique characteristics. While coding the vertex coordinates of these solids in Grasshopper, I made a simple lamp design to exercise the programming language. The code generates the 13 Catalan Lamps with flaps. Since the polyhedra have planar faces, […]

While reviewing past Grasshopper studies, I stumbled upon a Parametric Muqarnas study dating back 11 years. Although it shares numerous characteristics with a muqarnas design, it is not a perfect match. The Grasshopper definition used in that study was not particularly efficient, prompting me to revisit and improve it. This particular design presents various challenges, making it an excellent exercise for mastering Grasshopper. My goal with this study was to […]

The interlocking frame structures represent a quintessential example of parametric design since very old times. More recently, they gained widespread attention through the Metropol Parasol in Seville, captivating architects and designers. I’ve extensively explored these structures on this blog, attempting various methods like manual slit drawing and solid/region boolean operations. My latest iteration aimed for greater simplicity and adaptability on complex surfaces. I call this new version Interlocking Pavilion. The […]

Archimedean Solids are convex polyhedra with faces of regular polygons and vertex-transitive. There are 13 such objects (excluding prisms and antiprisms which are probably less exciting). In this study, I experimented with these solids and designed a family of planters. Since they are convex and look cool, I decided to give it a try. I call this algorithm Archimedean Planters. The first part of the definition deals with the generation […]