A Geometric Adventure in the World of Grasshopper

A Geometric Adventure in the World of Grasshopper – Workshop, June 2024

This is a workshop of digital modelling of geometric form, using the Rhino 3D/Grasshopper software. The aim of the Workshop is acquiring basic knowledge and skills of parametric modelling and understanding the concepts of variability, control and automatization in the process of geometry creation. Through this way of digital modelling, the Workshop is also aimed at stimulating creative thinking and innovation that could be applied in students’ own design projects.

The Workshop consists of five parts:

An introductory part that will be given in the lectures on parametrization in creation of architectural form, and Rhino/Grasshopper basics.
Parametric 2D pattern – In the first of three classes, the students will be guided step by step in creation of a simple, yet visually very expressive 2D pattern.
Spatial curves – In this exercise the basic knowledge of mathematic, related to spatial curves, is integrated in Grasshopper parametric systems.
Combination of 2D patterns and spatial curves – In this part students will combine the contents of the previous two parts of the Workshop, creating a parametrized, spatial geometric composition.
Exhibition of students’ works.

The results of the student activity will be printed and displayed after each part of the Workshop. At the end of the Workshop the final exhibition will be organized. Selected student models will be 3D printed.

After this Workshop the students will be able to comprehend parametric approach in creation of geometric form, to understand and to create simple Grasshopper definitions.

Dr Mirjana Devetaković is associate professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture. She teaches a range of courses related to BIM (Building Information Modeling) and Parametric Modeling of Architectural Form. Actively participates in all national bodies related to application of BIM technology, including the Board of Directors of the BIM Serbia Association. Mirjana leads the AF.BIM Group that gathers students interested in a range of extracurricular activities in the field of BIM. She is also a member of the Executive Board of SUGIG, Serbian Association for Geometry and Graphics.

Her recent research interests are related to BIM documentation of industrial heritage, as well as to AI and Python integration in creation of geometric form.

Dr Jelena Ivanović is an assistant professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture. She earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mathematics. Consequently, she teaches mathematically-oriented courses, offering students the opportunity to apply mathematical concepts and algorithms in architecture and urbanism. Her pedagogical focus centers on the application of logical and analytical thinking in parametric modeling of complex geometric forms using the graphical algorithm editor Grasshopper.

Jelena is an active member of the Department of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Department of Combinatorics, Geometry, Topology and Algebra at the Faculty of Mathematics, as well as the Serbian Society for Pure and Applied Logic and the Serbian Association for Geometry and Graphics. She also serves as a member of the board of directors of the Young Mathematician Association and as a reviewer for the Serbian Architectural Journal (SAJ).