Parametric Topo Design & Analysis

Hi All—

In the spirit of sharing, I’m posting the parametric topo script that we use to teach our first year landscape architecture students @ University of Pennsylvanian digital topography.

Using simple curve profile modeling, the students can quickly explore, measure, and test a range of topographic design options. Essentially the process is analogous to gestural sketching or clay molding but with the benefit of precise analysis. Besides mesh generation, the script will also estimate cut/fill, cut contour sections, and calculate slope percentages (listed numerically & visualized via “hachures”). With the addition of components by others, it will also simulate surface drainage & automatically generate laser cutsheets w/ labels for the easy production of scaled contour models.

The file requires Element & Sonic to be fully functional. Download Element here: http://www.food4rhino.com/project/element?ufh. Sonic here: http://www.food4rhino.com/project/sonic?ufh.

I welcome any comments, suggestions, amendments, or criticisms that you may have. Hope it’s of benefit to our (digital) landscape community!

Attachments:

PENN Parametric Terrains 2.3dm, 4.4 MB
PENN Parametric Terrains 2.gh, 773 KB

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ivan Heitmann on November 24, 2015 at 6:46am

Thanks again for a very nice definition. A couple of quick questions. The C# script for baking at the end, is that included unedited from the original? Is the original available somewhere on the forums? Second, what is SonicFlow? I get an error on open about an unknown component. It doesn't seem to be of key importance here but I am curious. Also, what was the reason for your choosing hachure marks to indicate slope?

Cheers.

Permalink Reply by Keith VanDerSys on November 24, 2015 at 4:24pm

Hi Ivan--

The C# script is unedited. I'm not sure where I originally retrieved the component. I can dig around for it. Sonic is a plugin for simulating surface flow. You can download in from Food4Rhino: http://www.food4rhino.com/project/sonic?ufh. The definition uses both hachures & contours to visualize slope. Unlike contours, hachure marks denote slope direction & degree. By deconstructing the mesh, you can easily generate the downward vector direction and angle of slope for each vertice.

Hope that helps explain things. Let me know if you have more questions.

Permalink Reply by Firat Aydin on July 9, 2017 at 7:03am

Can you refresh the link.
Destination is not available

Permalink Reply by Keith VanDerSys on July 9, 2017 at 9:54am

Sonic has been repackaged as Mosquito: http://www.food4rhino.com/app/mosquito-media-4-grasshopper.

Permalink Reply by Jireh Dagdag on November 15, 2017 at 11:48pm

Hi Keith. I can see that the existing site has topographical differences. I just want to know the process of drawing those profile curves. Did you incorporate a scanned clay model? Did you draw the path curves first using interpolate curves connected to both ends of the site then draw the landform curves out of it? I would assume that you drew a straight curve first then tweak it with moving the control points.

Permalink Reply by oldstory on January 2, 2016 at 9:34pm