Presentation slides for the GH User Meetup on 18th of April 2016. Main takeaway: Parametric models can go beyond aesthetic and technical exploration: they can embody a narrative and subsequently be the base of collaborative decision making.

1. Digital Tools Beyond
Aesthetics
Mass Creativity & The Enablement of Emergence

2. 1. Bla Bla (oh well…)
2. Case Study (leads nicely to subsequent point)
3. Beta.Speckle (the thing i am actually supposed to speak about)

3. $ whoami

4. 2009 FTW

5. 2008-2013 Parametric Design Tutor at Various Parametric Design Workshops
2010-2012 MSc @ TU Delft (Hyperbody)
2012-2013 Research Assistant @ ABK Stuttgart
2013-2014 Research Assistant @ TU Berlin
2013-2015 Architect @ Bogdan & Van Broeck (Brussels)
2015 now Marie Curie Researcher @ The Bartlett, UCL

6. two0t me your questions
@idid
actually just want more followers

7. Emergent Creativity
(Bla Bla)

8. William Blake

9. designers are part of the swarm of decision
makers whose actions lead to the crystallisation
of the built environment

10. design != isolated creation process

11. design emerges from a myriad of interactions
between human and non-human actors

12. Interactive
Negotiation Tool
PPP Feasibility Study / Brussels, Belgium

13. Project Brief
(…)

14. Usually, the deliverables are
historical & contextual analysis
gross estimate of maximum and minimum amount of m2
a list of possible functions that can be implemented
rough financial feasibility
volumetric studies based on zoning regulations
± 30 A4 pages.

15. Nevertheless,
this approach did not work out

16. Stakeholders
Real Estate/Developers
The Vlaamse Overheid
The Architects/Urbanists
Financial Feasibility
Social Impact
Political Relevance
Architectural & Urban Constraints
Parameters

17. GOV
DEV ARCH

18. GOV
politicians
policy
makers
architects
real estate
dept.
banks
investors
CSR
DEV ARCH
GOV
DEV ARCH

19. GOV
politicians
policy
makers
architects
real estate
dept.
banks
investors
CSR
DEV ARCH
SHO
RT
TERM
PRO
FIT
COOLNESS
SOCIAL
IMPACT
QUALITY
RESIDUAL GROUND
VALUE
LO
N
G
TERM
G
AIN
S
GIN&TONIC
GETRE-ELECTED
Greenenergy?
Too
expensive.
GOV
DEV ARCH

20. The stakeholders did not
speak the same
language & did not share
the same interests

21. rather than packaging a set of compromise-eroded
finite solutions and delivering those
(instead of “baking” solutions)

22. Package the negotiation process itself into a
deliverable
(let’s deliver the gh def)

23. GOV
politicians
policy
makers
architects
real estate
dept.
banks
investors
CSR
DEV ARCH
?

24. £

25. step 1: make a relevant parametric model

27. +not shippable to politicians

30. s0 much numb3rs

31. step 2: make it usable
accessible to all stakeholders, non-technical
and technical alike

32. kosten
inkomsten126.309.089
saldo42.429.429
42.429
42.429
42.429.429
42.429.429
6.309.089
kosten
inkomsten126.309.089
saldo42.429.429
6.309.089
IRR: 5% IRR EV: 12%

34. 1. categorise & visualise parameters
2. hide inner-mechanics
3. emphasise end results
4. reveal the flow of information
Strategies

35. categorize and visualise parameters

36. categorize and emphasise parameters

37. +hide the inner mechanics: more than 80% of space
taken up by secondary calculations that only 5% of
users understand

38. Emphasise the flow
of information

39. off the chart
database
Parameters
IRR somewhere
here
Netto Present Value
Profit
Residual ground value

41. • users gain a global understanding of the process
• they become aware of the trade-offs involved
• they appropriate the other stakeholders; point of view
Emphasise the flow
of information

44. so much cool
so happy

45. the inability to translate between disciplines
leads to friction, dissatisfaction and
compromised results.

46. aesthetic & technical
exploration
digital design tools currently cater to:

47. communication with all
stakeholders (including
non-technical ones)
digital design tools should cater to:

48. Parametric models can go beyond aesthetic
and technical exploration: they can embody
a narrative and subsequently be the base of
collaborative decision making

49. Beta.Speckle
InnoChain / Bob Sheil / Sean Hanna / Robert Aish
A modular, open source*, universally** accessible, mobile
ready*** online solution & performance space explorer

51. 1. Speckle exports the solution &
performance space you define
inside Grasshopper in a special file.
2. You upload the file to future.speckle.
Now it can be viewed online.
3. Users can now explore the
your parametric model in their
browser!

58. Design
Parameters
beta.speckle: online
parametric design software
Performance
Measures
Design
Problem
Parametric
Model
rinse &
repeat

59. 1. Define the solution
space
Which parameters are important to the design? Which
parameters can actually allow variation? Which are the
meaningful degrees of freedom?

61. 2. Define the
performance space
Which are the measures of performance that actually
interest me? Which are the performance measures
that are of interest to my stakeholders?

63. TL;DR

64. Viewer Dashboard 1
Dashboard 2
Backend
Grasshopper
Exporter
Dynamo
Exporter
MODEL API METADATA
API
Project
Website
USER API
Model
Instances
Model
Uploads
User
Sessions
Saved
Instances
Auth0
C# Component
Node JS, Express, MongoDB
THREEJs, JQuery
JavaScript Module
based architecture
clientserver
server
designer’s
computer
RESTful API

65. author
app on a server (nodejs)
client client client client client
exporter

69. instead of delivering baked goods,
why not deliver the recipe?

70. thank you.
@idid