A Moebius strip, also known as a Moebius band, is a fascinating mathematical object and a type of non-orientable surface. It was discovered independently by the German mathematicians August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing in the 19th century. To visualize a Moebius strip, imagine taking a long, narrow strip of paper and giving it a half twist before connecting its ends to form a loop. The result is a […]

This is a basic formation of component-based design in a dataflow environment. A double-curved surface is subdivided and re-constructed using straight sections. Parametric model of a surface construction by variable components. The main data list of subsurfaces are distributed into four distinct lists, that will be used to construct lines out of double-curved quadrilateral faces. Such definitions could be further advanced by adding a precise fabrication detail. Parametric definition can […]

One of the most popular shapes in topology studies is the one-edge, one-face Moebius strip. Here is a basic definition that generates Moebius-like lofted surfaces. I say Moebius-like because, in Grasshopper, Rhino, or any NURBS surface method, I couldn’t manage to model this shape in its real topological singularity. The tricky part of this Grasshopper definition lies at the end, as I take the first segment of the surface, flip […]

Here are some basic references to Grasshopper’s handling of objects. As the most powerful and intuitive part of such Visual Programming Languages is the focus of dataflow, the critical part of it’s education lies at the fundamentals of data tree manipulations. Designers using these tools should understand and predict the type of data trees his/her parametric model would process. Here is the Grasshopper document including these components; [2012_01_10-adding streams] We’ll start […]

I developed this code 13 years ago while learning the fundamentals of Visual Programming in Grasshopper. I was studying the ways of NURBS curve geometry. The animation shows the construction process of several Bezier Curves. In 2024, I optimized the code and added the thickness. The Flow Earring project showcases the beauty of parametric curves. The Grasshopper definition displays the animated construction process and the variations. The flow of the […]

There are a couple of experiments in different schools about organizing free-form surfaces (walls here) with a composition of modular elements (bricks). Even though they created robots to make such brick walls, I still couldn’t understand why. Although creating a parametric model that calculates the exact locations of bricks, seems very easy at first sight, there came severe problems to solve in order to achieve a correct layout without using […]

Inspired by Andru Pavlov’s design, I used a curve to accomplish grid tearing. It’s straightforward, and from an educational perspective, this exercise includes several potentials on vector arithmetics and graph manipulation techniques. As a design domain, this definition stresses the use of associative entities in a parametric model. Any primitive or complex entity may evoke different parameters in others. You may download the Grasshopper definition here:[2012_01_06_tear]

This was my first serious Grasshopper study. In 2009, I decided to attend a design contest for a campus entrance. Of course, the jury didn’t know that the design resulted from a parametric model. I have called this Parametric Entrance since then. The starting point of this project was the conception of the “entrance” as a design problem related to the project area as a whole, rather than just a […]

It has been a tough problem for me, for the last two days. A parametric model of an interlocking structure (sometimes also called egg-crate, waffle, or contouring structure) can be created easily in Grasshopper using a Contour component. In addition, you need a couple of list management operations and a boolean (or region) difference event. However, Rhino and Grasshopper are very slow at calculating boolean differences on both solids and […]

Since the mid-20th century, the hyperbolic paraboloid surface has been one of the most popular mathematical forms for architects. Named Hypar in short, this is the Quadric Surface equation of the Hyperbolic Paraboloid. Erik Demaine summarizes several examples from architecture such as the roof of the Girls’ Grammar School in London (designed by Chamberlin, Powell, and Bonn), the Philips pavilion at the 1958 Brussels exhibition designed by Le Corbusier, and […]

[2011_12_25_divide] here is the fundamental of surface subdivision in Grasshopper. In order to design a parametric truss exercise, this is the generally accepted starting point. Get a surface from the file, subdivide it into U and V directions to create point lists, and then manipulate these points to create something interesting. Having a list of points would also present good potential regarding attraction with other entities, such as point or […]

I am learning Grasshopper. In this Circle Crossing definition, I tried to create the above pattern (also described in Sunflower Spiral) as simply as possible, this definition creates not only spirals but is also capable of more tessellations I guess. Maybe a three-dimensional equivalent might be studied in the future. As you can see from the definition, I started with a large circle. Then, I divided it into segments and […]

This time, in order to develop a potential “dummy” surface for Grasshopper experiences, I built a better definition. The Graph Surface definition uses a polygon as a basis, divides the edges and moves them according to various parameters. It’s fun to play with mapping different graph types and various polygons and subdivision values. Surprisingly, this definition led me to a wide range of possibilities I haven’t planned. Especially, shifting the graph […]

NURBS surfaces by nature, like four-corner topologies with U and V directions. Şebnem Yalınay Çinici has formulated a tectonic exercise of “Primitive Hut”, which in my point of view is a tough geometric challenge; a subdivision on a real three-corner manifold. That seems very easy at the beginning as both Rhinoceros and Grasshopper are able to create surfaces with three corners, by either lofting, meshing, or edge curve methods. However, those […]

This experiment is based on a traditional surface-component definition. However, the variation of components is associated with Gaussian curvature. We just control the subdivision and a multiplier value. Results are interesting in as an educational tool to explain NURBS surface curvature and its utilization for Design Geometry. Different surface shapes generate exciting results. Of course, this could be much improved by recognizing positive and negative curvature values, (probably only accepting […]

Sunflower Spiral (or Phyllotaxis) can be constructed in Grasshopper according to Vogel’s model of parametric relationships. This model uses polar coordinates. You can download the Grasshopper definition file here: (The Grasshopper file is still working after more than 11 years -15.12.2022. This is such a powerful quality of Grasshopper, I think.) It’s a good example of utilizing polar coordinates. It’s also fun to play with the parameters and constraints of […]

We’ll use the “Animate” function in Grasshopper3D to create a stop-motion animation. First, you need to determine the parameters you’ll animate, which means defining maximum-minimum values of it. In our example, we’ll be using a simple bezier curve generation algorithm. You can download it here [2011_12_21_bezier curve.ghx]. In this definition, we plan to animate one parameter which is the value of “t” between 0.0 to 1.0. This single change affects various […]

Back in 2011, one of the first posts on designcoding explored how to divide a surface in alternative ways. I called this Grasshopper definition a semi-regular surface tessellation. Although the term isn’t entirely accurate -since the pattern is neither planar nor made of equilateral shapes- it still reflects what I had in mind. Dividing surfaces into fabricable parts remains a key concept in learning parametric modeling, so I decided to […]

The smooth and continuous nature of the “Sine Surface” has garnered significant popularity among designers and architects alike. This captivating curved surface offers a visually pleasing aesthetic that adds an elegant touch to various design projects. Its flowing contours and gentle undulations create a sense of harmony and organic beauty. Recently, I delved into this with the help of Grasshopper’s Graph Mapping functionality, I began my artistic journey. Although I […]

Design scripting is initially based on secondary syntactic mechanisms that control sequential executions of code. We call this model of computation control flow programming. On the other hand, dataflow represents a widespread alternative to control flow by utilizing concurrent streams of data. Dataflow programming languages are also considered as pedagogical tools in fields where the coders are not expert computer programmers. In the last decade, new parametric modeling tools introduced […]