Full Syllabus
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Seminar Project: A Performance-Driven Skyscraper Algorithm
Students will be involved in an ongoing project to design and document a Grasshopper skyscraper algorithm. The skyscraper algorithm will be driven by various performance criteria that can be categorized under the 4 topics below:
- Constraint-based Programming
- Structure and Skin Systems
- Environmental Analysis and Feedback
- Fabrication and Construction Methods
Each week, a new topic will be introduced followed by a step-by-step tutorial. The students will then develop their skyscraper algorithm based on the weekly topic and submit a progress file(s) to the Student Labs before the next class. Students are encouraged to experiment and be creative with their weekly explorations.
For the final product, the students will be responsible for documenting and publishing their work on on their personal page in the Student Labs. The students will create a vignette (diagram, drawing, or rendering) and the final grasshopper file (*.GHX file).
In addition, each student will be assigned one Course Topic and they will provide a detailed process summary (visual and written) of the topic. The students will define the topic and provide process diagrams related to the topic based on their explorations.
The results of the seminar project will be presented to the NBBJ Los Angeles Studio on the final day of class.
Individual Vignette Examples: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3
Course Topic Process Examples: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4
Grasshopper Exercises
Exercises are found under the Course Resources and are designed to build the students ability to problem solve and troubleshoot using the Grasshopper plug-in. One of two types of exercise will be issued every week during the course:
- Debugging Exercises: This type of assignment will challenge the students to fix a Grasshopper definition that is not doing what it is supposed to be doing. This will build the student's competency in reading a definition file and identifying common problems they will run into when working with the plug-in.
- Problem-Solving Exercises: This type of assignment will challenge the student to build a definition from scratch based on specific criteria. This will build the student's ability to think through conceptual-level problems using the plug-in
Assignment Parameters
- Resources: Students may use any resources available to them to complete the assignments. Students are encouraged to communicate via the discussion forums on this wiki or ask questions on the Grasshopper forums. Yes, the instructor is a valid resource.
- Collaboration: Teamwork and collaboration is highly encouraged. However, if students choose to work together on any assignment, they must cite the contributions of their collaborators within their submission.
- Attribution: Always credit your authorship of a given work. Likewise, If you use or modify materials that are not of your original creation, you must always cite proper authorship. This class has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism.
All work will be attributed to the students and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Grading
Who deserves an A?
The A student demonstrates proficiency and enthusiasm in using the Grasshopper plug-in and in the course content. This can be measured in in a number of ways including the level of participation on the wiki.
The A student completes assignments, regularly posts explorations to their laboratory page, and contributes thoughtful content to the assigned topics page. The A student initiates conversations on the forum, helps others in need, and asks questions when they run into problems or don't understand a concept.