Intro to Grasshopper for Rhino

I attended the Novedge Intro to Grasshopper for Rhino Webinar yesterday. It was given by Andy Payne, from LIFT Architects, and I found it to be really helpful and informative in getting a handle on the basics of Grasshoppers and its capabilities.

Here's a recorded video of it, for those of you who missed it:



The webinar covers three things: First Andy goes over the the interface and explains where and what everything is.  Next he covers two tutorials, the first of which is a truss.

For more Grasshopper information, click here.

Richard Serra Drawing: A Retrospective

I went to see the Richard Serra Drawing exhibit at the Met last week.  Really really interesting work.  Most of the drawings shown were done using a melted paint stick on large sheets of paper.  He also created a few site specific drawings for this show, and those were my favorite.  Here are my sketches of those drawings.

Its amazing to me that with just a subtle change in his interventions in each of these corners, the result was a huge difference in one's experience of the corner.  All the more interesting by the fact that each one is the same size and height.

As an architect, Richard Serra's work is very relevant in that he has a unique ability to play with our perceptions of a space without us even noticing that he's doing so. This was the first time I have seen his drawings, and they were almost more powerful to me than the sculptures, because they provided a window into his thought process and his ideas about form, gravity, force, and weight.  

Songs Outside My Window

Last night, I was sitting on my couch reading about masonry walls as one does on a regular Saturday night.  The window was open, because it finally getting warmish here in NYC and humid, which tells me that its almost beach weather (!!!).   Around midnight, I heard the most beautiful sounds of singing floating up from the street and into my living room.  I looked outside, and it was coming from the Ukranian Orthodox Church on my block. The entire congregation had gone outside, standing together on the balcony with candles, singing songs (which I didn't understand, but assume they must be about Easter).

What a welcome surprise.  Thank you!

Transfinite

Really need to see this exhibit, Transfinite, at the Park Avenue Armory, opening on May 20th!

Midwest Landscape

I went to visit my folks in Ohio.  I always get a window seat so I can observe the drastic change in landscape from New York to Ohio.  The big open flat plains of the Midwest are so peaceful and quiet, especially on a misty rainy day like this one, and a welcome respite from New York City.

Soundview News

As you may already know, the site for our studio this semester is in Soundview Bronx, which includes Soundview Housing and Soundview Park.  After becoming a fan of the Soundview Park Facebook Page, I saw a link to this video.  Morgan Powell has been researching and writing about the Bronx River, and now gives tours along the river as a way to bring people back in touch with the history of the river and surrounding neighborhoods and create a greater appreciation of the rich history of the region.

Grasshopper

I'm going to the Intro to Grasshopper webinar, April 27 and I can't wait! And by "going" I mean I'll be going to my computer.

New Views, Just for You

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