Wednesday, May 25, 2011

End of semester

Finally, I think the semester is over - at least for most of you. (There are a few of you who are continuing on the vertical cities competition.)

Just want to say thanks for all the hard work that you have all put in. It has been a very productive semester, and the work that has been produced is great.

See you all in 5th year!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

phtj_shapely

The Join SOP in houdini is very useful for joining small lines into polygonss. However, in the last few days we discovered that it does not work well in all cases - depends on how the lines are organised.

So I have added two new operators to the phtj_shapely node for joining lines. The Join 2d op simple joins any lines that it can find whose ends are touching. The Join and Close 2d op will join lines to try and find closed polygons.


Friday, March 18, 2011

voronoi fracture

I have made an example of using the vornoi fracture node. This might be useful for a number of groups.

There are also a few other things that might be useful to look at. For example, using a scatter, followed by triangulated2d, and then polyreduce, in order to get evenly distributed set of points. (This may also be done using particles).

In order for this to work, please make sure that you install the latest phtj_shapely.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

phtj_shapely updated

The offset node in phtj_shapley has been updated. It now remembers the edge/surface setting, and an additional resolution parameter has been added. This parameter can also be set to negative numbers - draw a v shaped line and test to see what happens.

phtj_urban bug fix

Some bugs have been fixed in phtj_urban:



Thursday, March 10, 2011

phtj_radiance V1

I have updated the radiance node - here it is. As usual, copy the otl in the otls folder, copy the py2radiance folder into the sitepackages folder, and put the test.hip and base.rad anywhere you like.

The materials in the base.rad file can be seen here:

Monday, February 14, 2011

phtj_utils bug fix

The display attribute node (displays the scale bar) in the phtj_utils.otl hase had some bugs fixed.

Competition

I will be busy until 2.20pm, so please make a start and analyse the information on the Vertical Cities Asia website.

Houdini license server restarted

I just checked with Sek. It seems that the license server crashed over the weekend - not sure why. Sek has restarted it this morning, and Houdini should be working again now.

phtj_utils

I have added one more node to phtj_utils. This node allows you to display any numeric attribute, and also generates a colour bar. The zip file contains an example of using the new node.
The node was originally developed by Zhang Ji at CSAC, NUS. I have changed a few bits and pieces here an there.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Houdini license server

The Houdini license server is down, so Houdini is not running in teh labs. To be fair to everyone, the deadline will be extended until Wed 16th Feb.
  • Monday 14th Feb, we will meet at 2pm to discuss the studio project - Vertcial Cities Asia.
  • Wednesday 16th Feb, we will meet at 2pm for presentations of assignment 2 for the elective.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Houdini help

I just saw some great new help documents (PDF files) for Houdini, on the sidefx website:

Vertical Cities Asia

For the studio, we will be using the Vertical Cities Asia competition as a vehicle for IVP.

On Monday will be the presentations for assignment 2 of the elective. However, I have just found out that there will also be a briefing for the Vertical Cities Asia competition, at 3pm on Monday, in the urban design studio.

So we will have to move the presentations forwards a bit:
  • From 12.30pm to 3pm: 6 students
  • From 3pm to 4.30pm: Vertical Cities Asia briefing
  • From 4.30 to 6.30: 5 students
http://verticalcitiesasia.com/

EnergyPlus V2.3

Another bug fix:
  • shades were being assigned to the wrong surfaces
For consistency, I have put it back in the original zip file as usual (but only the otl file has changed - the rest is the same).

Thursday, February 10, 2011

EnergyPlus V2.2

Some more bug fixes for the energy plus nodes:
  • windows were being assigned to the wrong surfaces
  • the data folder generated an error when the name was changed
I have fixed these bugs - a new phtj_energyplus.otl file has been created . For consistency, I have put it back in the original zip file as usual (but note that only the otl file has changed - the rest is the same).

phtj_shapely

I have uploaded the shapely node, originally created by Kian Wee Chen.  Here it is:
There are a few files and folders in the zip.

The phtj_shapely.otl needs to be copied to your otls directory

The shapely folder (including the folder itself) needs to be copied to:
...\Houdini 11.0.xxx\python26\lib\site-packages

There are two geo folders, one for 32 bit windows, and another for 64 bit windows. Choose the folder for your version of windows, and copy the files in that folder to
  ...\Houdini 11.0.xxx\python26\dlls

EnergyPlus V2.1

I have fixed a few bugs in the energy plus nodes. Now you can create attributes for more than 3 zones (50 max). And you can get heating and cooling for zones. And I simplified some of the naming of the attributes.

You can use the same download link as before - phtj_energyplus.zip

Note that I have not yet fixed the boundary bug - if you are doing floating zones, you still need to select both 'Roof boundary is floor' and 'Floor boundary is roof'.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

EnergyPlus V2

The new version of the energy plus nodes are here! It has some more friendly nodes for creating attributes required for the energy plus simulation. Also, the energyplus_link node now allows you to specify internal gains, and also link floors and roofs (as discussed at the end of monday).
Like last time, there are a few files and folders in the zip.

The phtj_energyplus.otl needs to be copied to your otls directory

The py2energyplus folder need to be copied to:
...\Houdini 11.0.504\python26\lib\site-packages

The base.idf and the test.hip can be anywhere, but must be together in the same folder.

Do not save anything in folder with spaces e.g. "My Documents"

Monday, February 7, 2011

EnergyPlus V1

After some delay (it is already nearly 3pm!), here is the EnergyPlus node. I was trying to fix a bug - I have half fixed it, but I will do another update tomorrow. For the meantime, we can get started with this one:
There are a few files and folders in the zip.

The phtj_sim.otl needs to be copied to your otls directory

The py2energyplus folder need to be copied to:
...\Houdini 11.0.504\python26\lib\site-packages

The base.idf and the test.hip can be anywhere, but must be together in the same folder. Do not save in folder with spaces such as "My Documents".

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

phtj_chops

Here is the chops otl file. Also, the phtj_utils otl has been updated - a few bugs have been fixed.

Elective (AR5953a) Assignment 2

Assignment 2 for the elective (A5953a) is due in Monday 14th Feb. You will be asked to prepare a 15 minute presentation, using slides and video captures of Houdini. You need to create an A3 landscape booklet documenting your presentation. The assignment is worth 50% of the grade for the elective.
  • 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:
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

Monday, January 31, 2011

phtj_utils

Here is the otl file with some useful utility nodes. Also, the phtj_urban otl has been updated - a few bugs have been fixed.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Urban simulations: phtj_urban.otl

Here is the otl file containing nodes for performing a range of urban simulations.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

foreach loop

Here is an example of a double foreach loop:

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

parametric office

Here is an example of a parametric office:

Houdini videos

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


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.
There are some excellent videos to help you learn Houdini. Many of these videos are for version 9, but if your are using version 11, that is OK - the interface is mostly the same in versions 9 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.

On the Houdini Apprentice blog, there are some good videos to get started:
On the Houdini site there are also some other videos introducing the interface, which is useful for beginners.
And there are also some videos on specific tools:
There are also a set of commercial companies producing 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.
Of course there is also some other stuff on YouTube. here are a few:
There are also a bunch of commercial training videos that are not free. See the list of companies here:

Elective (AR5953a) Assignment 1

Assignment 1 for the elective (A5953a) is due in Monday 24th January. You will be asked to prepare a 15 minute presentation, using slides and video captures of Houdini. You need to create an A3 landscape booklet documenting your presentation. The assignment is worth 50% of the grade for the elective.

The task for this assignment is to use Houdini to create a parametric model of  10,000 m2 of residential apartment building. The parametric model will be used to automate the developmental step in the IVP design process. The model does not need to be a detailed model, but should include structural frame,  lifts, stair cores, and individual apartment units. Elements like individual stair treads and furniture inside apartments do not need to be modeled (or if they are modeled, need to be highly simplified). When modelling elements like walls, they do not need to be modeled with thickness - a single surface will be sufficient.

You need to think about how to parametrise your model. For example, parameters may include the number of floors, the size of apartment, the floor to ceiling height, the depth of the balconies, the size of the windows, .... etc. Do not just try and maximise the number of parameters - instead, try and choose a small number of parameters that produce meaningful results.

In your presentation, do not focus on one final design. Instead, describe how your parametric model works and what types of design variants it can produce. In order to do this, you need to create a developmental diagram showing the relationship between parameters and design variants. This diagram should show a series of modelling steps, and should show how each step is affected by certain parameters.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Welcome

Welcome to the IVP studio. Here is a recap on what was handed out:


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 (AR5953a): “Tools and Techniques for IVP”
o        Week 1 to week 4: Mon, Wed and Thu afternoons
Total 12 afternoons.
o        Week 5: Assignment due, to be completed individually.

·         Studio: (AR4104): “IVP Studio”
o        Week 5 to week 12:  Mon, Wed and Thu afternoons
Total 24 afternoons.
o        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 (site and brief yet to be determined). 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.