I wonder if someone could help me or point me in the right direction. I’m Landscape Architecture student currently doing my final project on nature-based structures like this:
I’m trying to find Rhino/or Grasshopper plugins that could help me along this journey; this is what I imagine my process to be like:
A) GENERATING VARIOUS FORMS
Generate various shapes of structures that people could occupy (e.g. an archway to walk through, a canopy, a pavilion etc…). So I’m looking for plugin to can just generate different shapes, like this:
B)RATIONALISING INTO BUILDABLE ELEMENTS
Once I select a form, I want to translate it into something constructible. For example, let’s say I like this shape; I would like to be able to define lengths, spacing, orientation of these wood members. Generate a rough ‘kit of parts’ so to speak (e.g. In order to make this archway, I will need 20 straight pieces of wood, each 10m long, to form walls, 6no. pieces of wood, each 3m long for the roof etc).
Perhaps there’s a plugin so I could give it surface, and some parameters, and it gives me this information?
C) SIMULATING LIVING GROWTH OVER TIME
Now imagine, that instead of just wrapping some climbing plants over trellis, I want that archway to be GROWN plant! I’m interested in:
plugins or workflows that simulate plant growth over time
systems that model branching, climbing, or colonisation behaviours
even approximate / conceptual simulations (not necessarily biologically perfect)
I’ve been browsing Food4Rhino, but I suspect I might not be using the right terminology — so even keywords, workflows, or precedents would be hugely helpful.
Thanks so much in advance — I’d really appreciate any suggestions!
There are many ways to generate such form. Your friend would be Kangaroo plugin look for pavillion, tensile structure, minimal surface, catenary structure examples in forum or github.
More time consuming step. But if you start from quad mesh or surface for general shape its not difficult to extract isocurves for vertical and horizontal rods. I imagine workflow would be like paneling on surface. Look for examples using relativeItem, splitTree components.
You are showing conceptually different types of structures on your pictures. Some of them are with ivy plants on grids, some made out of thin rods(not live plants), some are live plants that should grow into something.. Some of your example shapes are geometrical, and some are tensile-like. You have no clear idea of what you want (“I want plants in grasshopper”) and a magical plug in that will do everything for you.
I would select one direction first, and simplified the question you are asking here. Because literally almost every picture you show here requires a different approach.
You can look up some growth algorithms, like growth on mesh/surface from parakeet. And use those to populate a surface you created beforehand with plant-like appearance .
