How to create a twisting tower

Hi guys.

I want to create a twisting tower like the image I uploaded (I don't know the proper name for it), It's kind of a tower that has waves on it which they rise from the ground and go up and not in an exact way, I searched but I just found definitions for simple parametric towers like the ones that rotate in one direction, Do you have any idea how can I create this ? Any tips would be appreciated .

Thank you

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by peter fotiadis on December 7, 2015 at 3:09am

Hmm ... I have several "things" (not components) that do a vast variety of that "type of stuff" but they are not suitable for you ... at their present state (due to the lack of components, that is).

Shown one of them doing an "exoskeleton" primary LBS (according many "options") and then the tower layout (an abstract concept of it to be exact). I'll try to translate SOME parts of these C# into native components and I'll post it here to give you a hint to start with (but the most critical part in tower design: the elevator maker/calculator is classified as internal, sorry).

Permalink Reply by Kiana M on December 7, 2015 at 3:17am

Hi peter

Thanks for your reply, since I'm new to grasshopper and this would be my first serious project I have no idea about the things you said :D But I would really appreciate it if you could post those hints later so I can start. And I don't need the elevator maker and stuff, I just need this exernal "surface" so i can import it to revit and start working on the plan. Looking forward to your help. Thanks !

Permalink Reply by peter fotiadis on December 7, 2015 at 3:27am

Hi Kiana (Revit? Mama Mia > this thing is 1M miles out of focus).

Well ... indeed ... the things that I said are bad things so forget them, he he.

I'll start "downgrading" things for some "simple" guide (ONLY native components NO bad things) to happiness.

BTW: designing towers (EVEN concepts) without the elevators is like the 3rd marriage (BAD thing: avoid).

BTW: what about the unstable pregnant tower? (C)(TM)(US Patent pending).

more soon

Permalink Reply by peter fotiadis on December 7, 2015 at 4:33am

Yikes + Yikes > it took me more than 30 minutes to do it (appears that I've lost my "touch" with native components, he he).

1. Good news: NO bad thing(s):

2. Bad + Ugly news: it doesn't do much ... but it's a start (kinda).

best

Attachments:

uglier_tower_in_town_OVERSIMPLIFIED_NOBADTHING_V1.gh, 153 KB

Permalink Reply by Kiana M on December 7, 2015 at 4:43am

Lol yeah of course it needs elevators and stuff, I meant I'm gonna create them in revit i just need the surface from GH.

Thanks for this one! I will try it and see if I can do the same

Permalink Reply by peter fotiadis on December 7, 2015 at 5:25am

Hmm ... keep in mind (future guideline to greatness of some sort):

1. Tower design is supposedly(?) a parametric thingy these days. This means a lot of quite complex things, various engineering disciplines, dedicated MCAD apps, BIM apps, team work AND elevators as well: if you design something "variable" and then attempt to service it via a "static way" (Revit) you'll discover that you are wasting your time. I can list you a lot of WOW towers that failed on that (elevator) matter ... but this wouldn't be polite for the designers: so let's continue.

2. The other critical thing is the system that does the skin: since "liquid" is the new WOW (it shouldn't) the task of "faceting" a facade and doing it with a system that doesn't leak (in the long term), doesn't pop the panels out of the frames and it doesn't cost the GNP of Nigeria ... well ... is not that simple.

3. It's a very common mistake for some future Architect to "skip" (even mentally) "trivial" matters like these ... but if you get used on this type of thinking you'll gonna pay a heavy price (as an Architect).

So my advise is: whilst you are after "form(s)" sketch frantically the nuts and bits of that form (not to mention ... er ... hmm... the elevators, he he).

best

Permalink Reply by Kiana M on December 7, 2015 at 2:40pm

Yeah you're totally right.
I guess I should keep an eye on my sketches lol

Permalink Reply by Tim on December 9, 2015 at 12:48am

Totally agree with Peter.

I and my group designed some nice twisting towers in our third year project (the pregnant one, btw XD, somewhat 3rd or 4th month, we had a tiny site))) And I had to work on elevators and staircases at some point and oh boy was it tricky))) And yeah, took me some time, problem is, you can't twist an elevator shaft (you can, technically, but nobody does this)

Also, I think it is nice to be able to adjust elevator parametrically, and can save you tons of time. Again, relates to a personal experience of tweaking and turning elevator around to squeeze it nice and dandy into body of the tower in a way that columns are not the first things you see when you get to a 13th floor XD.

Good luck with the project, make it nice.

Permalink Reply by peter fotiadis on December 9, 2015 at 1:23am

One of these days I'll send you some very tricky thing to play with, he he.

BTW: designing a tower having in mind solely the skin (and NOT primarily the 1:1 details of the cladding) is like attempting to tune a Harley Davidson - only for those who know nothing about motorcycles.

Permalink Reply by peter fotiadis on December 9, 2015 at 1:29am

For "tricky" I mean the thing that does some portions of this oversimplified 3d PDF:

(of course ONLY IF you replace that pink potato with some ... er ... hmm ... yellow one, he he)

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