Marc Fornes
theverymany

Marc is a registered Architect DPLG and the founder of theverymany a design studio and collaborative research forum engaging the field of architecture via what he qualifies as “Explicit and Encoded protocols”. In 2004 he graduated with a Master of Architecture and Urbanism from Architectural Association’s DRL after having previously studied in France and Sweden (KTH). Together with Francois Roche, Marc is co-teaching (n)certainties for the 5th time, a graduate studio hosted at Columbia and USC; in Fall 2008 it was hosted at Die Angewandte in Vienna. In parallel of academia Marc is also teaching professional Rhinoscript classes for McNeel US and Europe. Marc is a frequent invited guest critic at the AA, The Royal College of Art, Columbia, Pratt, University of Pennsylvania and Ball State. Marc and theverymany are based in New York City.

Andrew Payne
Lift Architects

Andrew founded LIFT architects in 2007 as an online resource for a new generation of architects who are interested in experimenting with new concepts and techniques that generally fall outside the normative definition of an “architect”.  Andrew received his Masters of Architecture from Columbia University in May of 2005 and was recently awarded Runner Up in the 2009 Metropolis Magazine’s Next Gen Competition for his heat sensitive energy independent ventilation system titled, The Air Flow(er).  Andrew has worked for architectural firms such as Richard Meier & Partners and Skidmore Owings & Merrill in New York and San Francisco.  Academically, Andrew has taught courses and workshops at universities and institutions across the US and Canada.  He currently works and lives in San Francisco, California.

Rajaa Issa
Robert McNeel & Associates

Rajaa is a software developer with Robert McNeel & Associates. With an interest in architectural geometry, she has written several applications for Rhinoceros© including Paneling Tools for 3D pattern generation and surface rationalization.  Most recently she has co-authored the second edition of “The Grasshopper Primer” and many of the VB.NET scripting tutorials. Rajaa graduated with a Master in Architecture degree from Auckland University, New Zealand in 1999. In 2003, she was awarded a Master in Computer Science & Engineering degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.  She is based in north Texas.

This session will cover advanced concepts in geometry editing (UDT), history, dynamic sectioning and rationalization of architectural models. It will use PanelingTools plug-in to show how to use the Rhino environment to intuitively generate custom 2D and 3D patterns and paneling concepts and also rationalize complex geometry into a format that is suitable for analysis and fabrication. Attendees need to have basic knowledge of Rhino modeling environment.

This session introduces foundation knowledge necessary for architects interested in the field of architectural geometry, algorithmic design and scripting. It uses Rhino and Grasshopper environment to explore principles of vector geometry, coordinate systems, transformations and nurbs geometry. It also introduces the basics of logical thinking, pseudocodes and algorithmic design. Attendees don’t need to have prior knowledge in Grasshopper or Rhino modeling.

This session covers the fundamentals of Visual Basic Script, the main scripting language used within the Rhino environment. Participants will learn variables, arrays, conditional statements, looping, and custom functions in order to exploit the scripting functionality embedded into Rhino. The session will offer the opportunity to understand and utilize the algorithmic process as a tool for design by way of Rhino script.

This demonstration session will use rhinoscript as a platform to explore the most basic concepts of scripting. Material covered will include examples of how scripting techniques can be incorporated into the design process; basic building blocks of code, and how they are combined to form a working script. Example scripts will be provided. Participants interested in learning more advanced techniques are encouraged to sign up for the advanced Rhino scripting session.

This session will build off of the concepts learned in the Intro to Grasshopper workshop where we will begin to create complex definitions aimed at bringing the digital world into reality through new fabrication techniques.  We will look at the various ways that this plug-in can facilitate traditional laser cutting methods and CNC milling techniques to accelerate the design/construction process.

Open to students, faculty, and professionals who are interested exploring new forms and shapes using generative algorithms, this session will cover a range of diverse topics that will enable the attendee to have a solid understanding of this powerful graphical algorithm editor.  Topics covered will include: the interface, persistent vs. volatile data, data matching algorithms, functions & booleans, data trees, list & data management, vectors, attractor patterns, and much more.

In a broad overview the Applied Parametric Design session will showcase award winning projects from performance based design techniques to specific implementation methods focusing on the rationalization process and the optimization and extraction of building components from 3D models. Attendees will gain a broad understanding of the potential for parametric design and digital fabrication in real world scenarios.