grasshopper – Anna Huff

In class: Origami

oragami

In class we did a workshop on the fundamentals of origami and digitally mapping origami folds on Grasshopper. It was cool to learn how much origami mechanics are being used from packing space stations to medical implants that can expand/fold out with a patient as they grow.

Origami is completely dependent on the material being folded and usually the material is paper for its malleability and memory. Once a fold is creased, it cannot be undone. Even smoothed out, the evidence of the fold remains. The craft completely relies on materiality because there is no other element besides material and fold. By using Grasshopper, folds are mapped out digitally and divisions are made mathematically. The file is then sent to the laser cutter which cuts perforated lines to then be folded by hand.

Weaving Algorithms: Reading Response

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Even though digital weaving may only be useful for planning weaves on the Jacquard Loom, the algorithmic problem-solving for the basic weave structure is important for studying generative design. The basic weave is a very old technique that has proven to be durable, flexible, and incredibly adaptive. Weaves are a great analogy for how craft transforms into design and slowly becoming more and more automated. The loom as a machine has evolved over time and as more components are automated, it is still the action of weaving, the weft going over and under the warp, the action of intertwining, is what gives it strength and the material is what gives it flexibility. Sure, models of weaving can be done digitally but the qualities of weave cannot be substituted for digital fabrication. The digital world relies on the tried and true structures of the tactile world and it is a slow and continually improving translation of languages between the two disciplines.

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Grasshopper Workshop

Screenshot (1) Screenshot (4) Screenshot (3)

In class we did three demos of various parametric design strategies for branching out from a line, radial patterning/organization, and surface division/design. Each demo is an example of coded algorithms transferred to three dimensional objects through different methods which can then be used for multiple machining options. The concept from Sympathy of Things of thinking of code or data as a material is visualized by Grasshopper. Just by restructuring or organizing data completely transforms the final product.