Parametric Facade Decoding

Name: RMIT Design Hub Building

Architect : Sean Godsell Architects

The surface of the Design Hub facade is covered in operable glass disks. In February 2016, RMIT announced that these disks will be  replaced with operable solar panels.  To achieve harvesting energy at an optimum level, these disks are fitted with an actuator . These will allows the disks to be exposed to the sun as much as possible. With the current material of sandblasted glass, the disks operate as a ‘second skin’ controlling solar gain and access. An internal computer controls this facade by adjusting each cell with rotational motors, according to Melbourne’s daily weather.

The goal of this exercise is to understand how to generate variations in this facade using grasshopper as the parametric tool.

Source: RMIT.jpg

Source: Pixel Facade

Source: PeterClark Photography

The facade is dynamic and is controlled by a computer program, hence  multiple logics can be regulating the variations. We are trying two of such methods in this exercise.

Using multiple processes to generate different rotations.

Achieving the following variations using grasshopper.

Analysis by : Shruti Jalodia.

Faculty : Aldo Sollazzo, Rodrigo Aguirre.

Developed at MAA01, Computational Design.

2017-2018