Introduction

This session introduces the concept of Generative Design and how it can be used to automate the design process. The video covers the three main elements of generative design:

• Creating a parametric generative model that represents a range of possible solutions to a design problem
• Calculating a set of objectives and constraints to describe your design goals
• Connecting your model to an optimization algorithm to automatically search for the best possible solutions.

The lesson also covers the software we will use to create our Generative Design workflows, including:

• Grasshopper - a computational design platform for the 3d modeling software Rhino, which we will use to create our generative models.
• Python - a popular programming language we can embed within our Grasshopper model to enable more advanced computational design techniques.
• Discover - a plugin for Grasshopper that can run automated optimization processes using Grasshopper models.

¶Generative Design case studies

The next lesson reviews three case studies where Generative Design was used to solve real-world design problems.

¶Getting started with Discover

The final lesson provides a hands-on demo of downloading Discover, connecting it to a simple Grasshopper model, and running your first optimization. It also covers the basic elements of the Discover interface so you can start integrating optimization into your own design workflows.

This lesson provides a hands-on demo of downloading Discover, connecting it to a simple Grasshopper model, and running your first optimization. It also covers the basic elements of the Discover interface so you can start integrating optimization into your own design workflows.

To download and install the Discover plugin go to https://colidescope.com/discover. This site contains step-by-step instructions for installing the plugin and common troubleshooting.

For an in-depth tutorial on installing and using the Karamba structural analysis plugin used in the Bridge sample file, please see this related course: https://live.colidescope.com/courses/simulating-structure/.

¶Addtional resources

For background on the concept of Generative Design, the theories behind it, and additional text-based technical tutorials on many of the concepts covered in this course, please consult my Generative Design publication on Medium - https://medium.com/generative-design.

This course requires a basic level of knowledge in Rhino and Grasshopper. If you're not familiar with Grasshopper or are a bit rusty, please consult my basic Introduction to Grasshopper course on Medium - https://medium.com/intro-to-grasshopper. It should take you no more than a weekend to get through, and will provide all the basic Grasshopper skills you need to succeed in this course.