Rhino Studio Series: Architecture
This series works the way studio works: the architecture comes first, the software follows. Every episode opens with the conventions, the standards, and the design reasoning before anything gets built with Rhino. Every episode’s guide includes helpful reminders while you work.
SEASON 1 | Architectural Drawing
In Season 1, we take a hand sketch of a 1000+ sq ft ADU (max 100 sq m) and turn it into a complete, coherent 2D academic-level drawing set, ready to print. Sketch to 2D to print.
Watch the Season 1 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Season-specific Material
SEASON 1 Guide: Outcomes, episode map, how the toolkit fits together (44.1 KB)
ADU Project Brief: Program, site assumptions, constraints (246.8 KB)
SEASON 1 Templates, four model units: ft, in, m, mm (3.7 MB)
Open the one your course uses and the drawing standard is already built in.
QUICK REF | 200+ First Commands to Know
QUICK REF | Rhino Studio Series: Layer Standard
New here? Watch the two intros below, then the two orientation videos, then watch this season’s episodes in order. That’s the order the playlist runs in.
Why this series exists
INTRO 1 | Architecture Before Software: Think First, Then Build with Rhino | The argument the whole series rests on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP4nkpupcIc&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
INTRO 2 | Rhino for Architecture: Interface, Interoperability & Independence | One tool across the whole life of an architectural idea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Kq1cDrokE&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Start here
ORIENTATION 1 | How to Get Started with Rhino | Download, install, and your first file
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFPG6BmpyFs&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Orientation 1 Guide: 200+ First Commands to Know (1 page) (496.6 KB)
Essential Rhino Commands: A practice file to explore each command (4.8 MB)
ORIENTATION 2 | Top 10 Setup Tricks with Rhino | Setup tips from years of teaching studio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUhbXIF1DDw&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Orientation 2 Guide: Top 10 Setup Tips & Tricks (1 page) (191.7 KB)
S1 E1 | Drawing Standards & Sketch Import
Why conventions exist, how a hand sketch becomes a scaled digital base, and how a layer & lineweight hierarchy makes a drawing readable before anyone looks closely. Three moves: drawing standards, sketch digitization, Rhino setup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgM4yV86a7o&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Episode 1 Guide (1 page) (53.0 KB)
Episode 1 Sketch (or create your own) (3.13 MB)
S1 E2 | Drafting Site & Context
Context, orientation, and boundaries: why a building is unintelligible without the ground it sits on, and how to draft a site plan that reads at a glance. Three moves: why site comes first, site plan basics, Rhino workflows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlWRlBdxKcA&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Episode 2 Guide (1 page) (54.3 KB)
S1 E3 | Drafting a Floor Plan
The horizontal cut: how space is arranged, enclosed, and used, and how to draft a plan with walls that have real thickness. Three moves: floor plan basics, designing through plan, Rhino workflows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf1rkK-Uq1A&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Episode 3 Guide (1 page) (52.3 KB)
S1 E4 | Drafting Elevations
The vertical projection: proportion, rhythm, and depth built out of lineweight rather than shading. Three moves: elevation basics, designing through elevation, Rhino workflows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8_o7GduAfg&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Episode 4 Guide (1 page) (57.2 KB)
S1 E5 | Drafting Sections
The vertical cut, and the drawing that cannot lie: experience, height, and light. Three moves: section basics, designing through section, Rhino workflows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeTlnOe12no&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Episode 5 Guide (1 page) (58.3 KB)
S1 E6 | Layouts & Annotations
The finished set: graphic hierarchy on the page, dimensions written as instructions rather than labels, and a clean PDF at a declared scale. Season 1 finale. Three moves: sheet thinking, dimensions for builders, layouts with Rhino.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP-pnom3O9o&list=PLYGu8023D6Wo
Episode 6 Guide (1 page) (48.7 KB)
Promotional Videos & Shorts
Short, vertical, and standalone. Each promo carries the same voiceover as the two intro videos above, cut vertical. The three season shorts pair with E1, E3, and E4. Each short lifts a single move out of the season, so they work as a first taste or as a reminder before you draw.
Promo: Intro 1 (series) | Architecture Comes Before Software | The series premise, in three minutes
Promo: Intro 2 (series) | One Tool for the Whole Architectural Idea | Interface, Interoperability, Independence
Short 1: E1 (season) | Build Your Drawing Standard with Rhino | Your layer standard is your drawing standard
Short 2: E3 (season) | 3 Tricks to Level Up Your Floor Plans | Hierarchy, shade, scale
Short 3: E4 (season) | Transform Your Elevations with Rhino | Why flat elevations read flat
For educators
SEASON 1 is built to drop into a syllabus, and the educator set is public. Nothing here is behind a gate.
Course plan: the season mapped to a term, with pacing and groupings (63.2 KB)
Assessment rubric: Studio final (36.9 KB)
Assessment rubric: Technical class (37.6 KB)
Critique guide: Mid-season pin-up (41.4 KB)
Critique guide: End of season (42.7 KB)
The rubrics are published on purpose. Students are welcome to read exactly what is being assessed, and a course that hides its criteria is arguing against its own pedagogy.
Next Season
SEASON 2 | Architectural Massing begins Tue, Sep 15th!
“Studio life comes first, and the Rhino Studio Series supports us.”
