Grasshopper WorkshopProject: Villa Bami, Roof Elementby Amiina Bakunowicz

Amiina Bakunowicz1

Amiina Bakunowicz2

Diagram of the Structural Elements of the Model

- Required initial geometry: the three boundary lines (ridge line and two wall lines) of the roof element and its cen-tre line must be provided within Rhino environment in order to create parts of the roof of any outlines. This definition can only be used to generate sym-metrical shaped roofs. Alternatively this definition can create non-symmetrical roof and canopies between two ridges if the code is adjusted slightly (the mir-ror function is eliminated at the end of the definition and another ridge is constructed at the other end of the roof curve)

4. All the construction surfaces of the slats

1. Initial geometry: the three boundary lines (ridge line and two wall lines) of the roof ele-ment and its centre line within Rhino environ-ment

ridge line

two wall lines

centre line

examples of other initial

construc-tion lines for other part of

the roof

3. All the construction curves of the slats

2. Wall line is offset to create the edge curve of the canopy

Fig. 5

Fig. 3

GrasshopperProject: Villa Bami, Roof Element

The brief:Villa’s location is south of Sardinia, Italy. There are 300 sunny days a year and the average tempera-ture during summer months is around 30C, therefore the facade sun screening is essential. However planning regulations do not allow eaves overhang greater than 30cm unless the canopy is considered to be a non-permanent structure. The lightweight structure of the roof must be made by a local car-penter who has access to a laser cutter. Also the project has a very tight budget.

The main goals of the project:- To experiment with the generative modelling of Grasshopper- To meet the defined requirements of the brief- Definition that can create an aesthetically pleasing and functional element for each seven parts of the roof

The outcome of the project:- The goals are met.- Few resolvable structral issues, like lack of support underneath the roof overhang.- Given that the three boundary lines of the roof element and its centre line are provided, roof ele-ments of any geometry can be created and combined together to make up a complete roof system. The definition can be easily adapted to include a wider selection of the control parameters if needed. However this definition is not able to take all construction lines of all parts of the roof and create a whole roof at once. It will be a future task to improve the definition.

Definition:- Main stages: edge curves for each slat spaced away at a Golden Section ratio, extruded and moved surfaces of the slats, ridge construction and final mirror of the one half of the roof- User controlled variables: width and number of the slats, slats’ and gaps’ scaling ratio, thisckness of the slats, ridge thickness.- Controls of the parameters are between canopy overhang and the width of the slats, gaps and the width of the slats, height of the roof profile and the thickness of the material and the number of slats, ridge depth and the width of the slats.

GrasshopperProject: Villa Bami, Roof Element

Amiina Bakunowicz3

9. Intersection points between the construc-tion curves of the slats and the ridge line

13. Four surfaces between the four edge curves giving the volume to the ridge

6. Edges of the trimmed slats’ surfaces as an intersection area between the surfaces in the steps 4 and 5.

10. The points are moved up, replicating ex-actly the path of the slats. A top curve of the ridge is created along the interpolation points and other 3 user defined points in Rhino

5. Defining surface of the hlalf of the roof element

14. The final ridge and the slats together

7. Surfaces of the slats

11. The bottom curve of the ridge is created by offsetting the top curve down.

15. The final ridge and the slats are mirrored along the centre line

8. Surfaces of the slats extruded and moved vertically

12. All the 4 edges of the ribs are created

16. The final part of the roof in Rhino model of the villa