Marc Syp

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graduate seminars

FA09, WI10 (24 weeks)

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instructor

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Rhino, Grasshopper

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Widespread familiarity with advanced parametric technology has led to a sophisticated understanding of vector-based geometry and an increasingly facile reading of its formal language.  More often than not, the geometry of parametric modeling is a direct reflection of the ability to differentiate granular components in minute increments across a continuum, with a multilayered computational accuracy that borders on fetish. As our understanding of these systems evolves and the shock of the new subsides, it becomes important to redirect and reemploy the parametric model in the service of architecture.

This course teaches parametric modeling with an emphasis on established formal strategies, typological investigation, and a clear decision-making process.  Students in this course learn advanced parametric modeling in Grasshopper, a visual scripting plug-in for Rhino.  Students diagram and analyze common typologies to identify opportunities for surgical intervention, and then apply advanced parametric modeling techniques, in a controlled manner, to explore new responses to persistent architectural questions.