Stage 1: Creating Forms with Revit Conceptual Masses
Twisting Rectangular Tower, “Building Base Width” = 50’
Twisting Rectangular Tower, “Building Base Width” = 100’
For the first part, I was tasked with flexing an example conceptual mass form. I chose to start off simple with the twisting rectangular tower from class. I wanted to vary the base width to increase the square footage as you go down the floors - additionally, it made more sense to have a larger foundation for a building this tall. I kept the building height and twist constant, while flexing the base width input. In addition, I added a create list node to the Dynamo code to export the data more easily. This way, I could easily read how the gross floor area and gross surface area were being shaped by the variation in the base width.
Stage 1, Part II:
Original Tower, “Mid Width” = 370”
Original Tower, “Mid Width” = 120”
For part two of stage 1, I used the given parametric template from class, and chose to set the base and top cross section as rounded triangles. The base was a diamond shaped profile. This allowed the building to have interesting curves between the three sided bounds and the four-sided middle cross section. I varied the width of the middle diamond shape to make it wider and flatter in the middle, producing a figure that was fin-like. Using a similar list function from above, I was able to view the change in gross floor area and gross surface area.
The main advantage of exporting values to excel was being able to compile all the data into a readable and readily accessible format. By placing the values into excel, we could be more efficient by focusing more the values and less on the presentation of the values. Additionally, less time was spent reading off the values from the Revit view boxes, placing them into an empty table, and checking to make sure that the values were copied correctly. Moreover, these values could be manipulated in Excel - easy and quick calculations like the average value can be a touch away from this export function.
Stage 2: Creating Forms with Dynamo Geometry
Top Profile H-Shaped Square Tower - Original
Top Profile H-Shaped Square Tower - Thinner Top Profile, Wider Base
For Stage 2, I was tasked with creating a unique geometry within the Dynamo script, and to use this script to create an interactive function that received inputs of certain building dimensions and output building characteristics, such as total floor area. This function, detailing this unique parametric building, could be used to our advantage by being tested through multiple iterations of specified variables, giving us an output of the building characteristics according to the change of two variables. I chose to create a design that looked realistic, but took advantage of the curved aesthetic - I chose two simple square cross sections for the base and the middle, and created a unique H-shape cross section that could be flexed in its flange length and body length. For this assignment, I chose to first model the structure outside of the function. Once the structure behaved correctly accordingly to the flexed parameters that I designed, I inputted the structure into the function and changed the parameters into inputs, and the resulting building characteristics into outputs.
In my opinion, the parameter that had the greatest change was the base width or length. By dramatically changing the base dimensions, one could simultaneously change the surface area, floor area, and volume of the structure. Parameters such as the twist angle of a certain level could only do so much in terms of changing the surface area, and had little to no effect on the floor area of the structure.