Example 5

Here are the example from last week

• Example 5 - the twisted tower, with some evaluations
• Example 6 -  the simple box, with two evaluations

The brief

Here is the brief for AR5953A Topics In Design Technology:

• The site is a large block (175m x 185m) based on a site in Marina Bay area. Please see the houdini file for more details. An abstract model of surrounding buildings has been generated using the densities from the URA 2008 plan.
• The task is to develop a proposal for a mixed-use urban morphology that is high density and that also provides good quality of life.
• Mixed-use in this case means office, residential, and commercial. The number of people working in the building should be equal to the number of people living in it.
• High density means an overall plot ratio of 13 (i.e. 420,000 sq meters). This is the plot ratio that has been set by the URA. Car parking should also be considered, and is not included in the area calculations.
• Good quality of life means thinking about various issues that make life enjoyable. These will include daylight, ventilation, views, privacy, open spaces, noise, etc. The importance of these issues will be different for residential, commercial , and office.

The aim of this brief is for you to demonstrate your own IVP design methodology. Therefore, the main focus is on the process rather than on the final outcome. You will need to show how you have used the IVP tools and techniques to achieve the final outcome.

Some other links:

• For more information on plot ratio
  http://www.ura.gov.sg/circulars/text/dcdgfahb_d0e127.htm#d0e144
• The URA development guidelines
  http://www.ura.gov.sg/circulars/text/dcdnrhb_d0e4.htm
• The general design guidelines for tall buildings should be followed
  Tall Buildings: A strategic design guide

Here are some key areas:

• Parking: 20 m2 per car
• Residential: 30 m2 per person
• Flat: 90 m2
• People per flat: 3.5 people
• Office: 20m2 per person
• Commercial: 7 m2 per flat

phtj_urban

Here are the otl files for the workshop today:

• phtj_urban
• phtj_utils

Copy it to one of your scanned otl folders on your computer .

Example 4 - towers

Here is the example from yesterday - the merging towers:

•  Example 4

This uses the 'metaball' node tocreate volumes that merge automatically to create complex surfaces.

Example 3

Here is the example from yesterday - the snake:

•  Example 3

This uses the 'switch' node to subdivide panels that are too big.

phtj_chops

Here is an otl file for the workshop today:

• phtj_chops

Copy it to one of your scanned otl folders on your computer - this will be explained in the workshop.

3D Buzz

For some other good beginners videos, have a look at 3D Buzz

• 3d Buzzz - Fundamentals
• 3d Buzz - How do I?

You will have to register first before you can watch any of the videos - registration is free.

Example 2

Here is the example from yesterday:

•  Example 2

Files

Here are some files from last week:

• Example1 - hip file and otl file (save them in the same place)
• Houdini Modelling 101 - version 3 (you can follow the web links)

Houdini

The version of Houdini we will be using is the apprentice version 10 or version 11.

Documentation

The documentation is all available online, as well as inside the software. For the online help:

• Houdini online docs

Videos

The first videos to watch are the ones included when you install Houdini. In Houdini, go to the menu, click Help > Start Here. This will open up your browser window, and there will be the various links, including some links to videos. The
"Introduction to Houdini UI" is the place to start.

• Introduction to Houdini UI

There are some excellent videos to help you learn Houdini. Many of these videos are for version 9, but if your are using version 10, that is OK - the interface is mostly the same in versions 9n and 10.

Peter Quint has also created some excellent videos to learn Houdini. These videos tend to be a bit easier for beginners, since they don't assume any prior knowledge.

• Peter Quint videos

On the Houdini Apprentice blog, there are some good videos to get started:

• Houdini Apprentice Blog videos
  
  • Introduction to Houdini's New User Interface
  • Introduction to Houdini's Node Based Workflow
  • View and Display Tools in Houdini 9
  • Working with Selection Modes
  • Working with Panes and Viewports
  • Working with Curves and Surfaces
  • Polygon Modeling with Subdivision Rendering

On the Houdini site there are also some other videos introducing the interface, which is useful for beginners.

• Houdini 9 Interface videos

And there are also some videos on specific tools:

• Surface Operations
• Copy Stamp
• Carve Tool
• Orient Objects to a Curve
• UV Texturing

There are also a set of commercial companies producing videos.

• CARDANFX
  
  • Free Videos
• 3D Buzz Houdini
  
  • H9 Fundamental Videos
  • How Do I... Videos
    

 The is a Houdini You Tube channel where the Houdini people regularly uoload videos, oftend highlighting the latest features of the software. So these videos are probably less useful for beginners, but great to see the amazing things that can be dione with Houdini.

• Houdini YouTube channel

Of course there is also some other stuff on YouTube. here are a few:

• AppleSoldier Houdini Videos on YouTube
• AppleShakeGuru videos on YouTube
• CARDANFX videos on YouTube

There are also a bunch of commercial training videos that are not free. See the list of companies here:

• Companies creating Houdini training videos

Ted Talk on IVP

Here is an interesting talk on Ted Talks

• Ted Talks: Build a tower, build a team

Welcome

Welcome to the start of the studio. Just to recap what we will be doing, here is the description of the studio.

The aim of this studio is to develop an iterative design methodology that consists of creating parametric models and evaluating variants generated by these models. You will be required to use advanced digital tools to develop an optimized design proposal that explores the trade-offs between multiple and conflicting evaluation criteria.

The semester will be split into two parts:

• Elective (AR5953): “Tools and Techniques for IVP”
• Week 1 to week 4: Mon, Wed and Thu afternoons
• Total 12 afternoons.Week 5: Assignment due, to be completed individually.

• Studio: (AR4103): “IVP Studio” 
• Week 5 to week 12: Mon, Wed and Thu afternoons
• Total 24 afternoons.Week 13: Final project due, to be completed in groups of three. All the students in the group will get the same grade.

For the elective, you will be introduced to the conceptual framework that is referred to as Iterative Virtual Prototyping. You will learn how to think about design in a new way. Rather than creating one design, you will be creating a digital process that is capable of automatically generating and evaluating large numbers of design variants. The main tool that you will use is called Houdini, developed by Sidefx. This tool is the most advanced procedural modeling tool that exists today, and you will be using it for both design development and design evaluation. You will also be linking to EnergyPlus and Radiance to run simulations of design performance.

For the studio, you will be working in groups of three, and you will sink or swim (or fly) as a group. You will be required to use the Iterative Virtual Prototyping methodology to develop a complex design proposal for a high-density mixed-use design for Jurong East MRT station. For the design, you will need to create a digital process that consists of both design development procedures and design evaluation procedures. For development, you need to explore how to parameterize your design ideas so that the right types of variants can be generated, and for evaluation, you need to identify key performance criteria that you would like to use for comparing design variants. At the final crit, you need to present the methodology used to arrive at the final design.