I sit next to Zach Kron here at the Factory. One thing Zach and I talk quite a bit about is the “hands on” approach to parametric modeling in Revit/Vasari vs. the more abstract approach of applications like Grasshopper and Generative Components. Zach calls this the “geometers” approach. That is, using good ol’ fashioned drawing techniques to define the base geometry and relationships. This keeps one very close to the actual geometry, versus the abstraction of spaghetti diagrams and the inaccessibility of code for those of us without comp-sci degrees.
For a while now I have been somewhat obsessed with the notion of building a parametric geodesic dome in Revit. I was originally inspired by David Light’s winning DesignByMany submission for Bucky’s Dymaxion House (which, by its geometry, can take advantage of standard divided surfaces. I quickly found that geodesic domes cannot be built using stock divided surfaces.) Also, I just love geodesic domes. I visited Bucky’s own Biosphere in Montreal this summer and committed myself to figuring out a way to build one in Vasari without writing any code.
The following video shows my technique, including an aspect of 3D snapping to surfaces that was pleasant surprise to me (and Zach as well!)
Coda: After building this model, I came across George Mokhtar and Iwan Peverett at BimAcadamy who took a very similar approach. Interestingly, they generated their icosahedron as a pseudo solid using formulae. This seems a bit more efficient than my technique of stitching the intermediate components across the golden rectangles.
Another Coda: And just last week the BIM Troublemaker made some trouble with a stellated dodecahedron in Revit (sweet!) Yet another (probably more efficient) way to explore building this dome.
_tom
There is a different solution to the small stellated dodecahedron, here:
http://planta1.com/forum/entry.php?11-A-small-stellated-dodecahedron-in-Revit
Posted by: Alfredo Medina | February 28, 2012 at 06:53 AM