Sunday, October 30, 2011

ACSA 2011 Admin Conference: Old School/New School


I am very excited to be involved in this year's ACSA Administrators Conference in Los Angeles. I was invited to participate in a panel discussion surrounding the challenges and opportunities for schools of architecture in the 21st century:

How should architecture schools respond to the changes posed by social media, the proliferation of data, globalization, climate change, and demands for economic and ethnic diversity? Are our existing educational concepts and methods adequate?

The Challenges and/or Opportunities panel will take place on Friday, November 11 from 10:30 to 12:00 AM and will include the following participants....

Ila Berman, California College of the Arts
Michael Speaks, Univesrity of Kentucky
Frances Bronet, University Oregon
Richard Sommer, University of Toronto
Robert Somol, University of Illinois, Chicago
Nathan Miller, NBBJ
Steven Lewis, RAW


A full schedule for the conference can be found here....

Thursday, October 27, 2011

NBBJ LA Project: Grand Stade de Casablanca

ArchDaily recently posted our proposal for the Grand Stade de Casablanca. The stadium is an 80,000 seat facility capable of hosting multiple types of sporting events. Grasshopper was used extensively in the design process to develop the concept and produce generative algorithms for the exterior faceted shell and paneling systems.

Architects: NBBJ & Yassir Khalil Studio
Location: Casablanca, Morocco
Structural Engineer: Schlaich Bergermann & Partner
Animation and Renderings: Studio 216




Saturday, October 15, 2011

What's New in Slingshot! Database v0.8?

Here are short visual tour of some the new features available in Slingshot! Database v0.8


1. Support for multiple database systems. The MySQL connector is still supported. ODBC and OLE DB allow access to many other RDBMS where information can be accessed, shared and coordinated with Grasshopper.
2. Perform SQL queries and commands on Excel files using OLE DB. Access information and search for data without launching the Excel program. (This is an alternative to the more common System.Runtime.InteropServices workflow.)
3. Access information from around the Web using FTP and HTTP components. Source information from websites and social networks. The Twitter Search component allows for Grasshopper to track recent posts and trends.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Slingshot! Database Plug-in v0.8

I am happy to announce a new milestone update to the Slingshot! plug-in for Grasshopper. The aim of the tool is to combine the power of parametric modeling with relational database management systems. Previously, MySQL was the only RDBMS supported. The new version includes support for ODBC and OLE DB which will allow connections to many different types of databases such as Access, PostgreSQL, SQL server, etc. In addition, I am beginning to build a collection of other helpful (and sometimes fun) workflow tools for accessing web information.

The new version introduces new (yet familiar) database workflows. For those of you who have been putting the MySQL plug-in to good use, you may want to hold off on upgrading until I have some demonstration videos and instructions up.

The older versions of the MySQL plug-in will continue to be available. However, you should not have both installed at the same time (The Slingshot! tab will get messy!)

Here is a list of updates...(not comprehensive)
  • Now officially called Slingshot! Database
  • Plug-In supports MySQL, ODBC, and OLE DB.
  • Reorganized toolbar with new icons and components.
  • Query and Command components enable access to different databases.
  • SQL string components help users compose SQL code for use with query and command components.
  • Web tools provide support for FTP upload/download and HTTP streams.
  • Read and write to remote (and closed) Excel files using OLE DB access.
  • Twitter Search gives users access to the search API and returns XML into Grasshopper.
  • MySQL components now require the MySQL .NET connector 6.4.4

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Oz Journal v33: Augment... Coming Soon!


Oz Journal v33 is available this month with a great collection of authors.

Yours truly has a write up... and from what I remember, it wasn't entirely incoherent! Check it out!

Edited by
Laura Beth Cochran and Samantha Smith

Less Is More Intense
Magnus Larsson

Revolutions of Choice
Frank Barkow

Hand Drawing in a Digital Age
Alan Dunlop

Shared Transformation
Lisa Iwamoto

Measurement, Uncertainty, and the Dataspace
Nathan Miller

Augmented Culture
Daniel Dendra

Illustrating Ecologies
Bradley Cantrell

Augmenting Architecture through Algorithmic Modeling
Nathan Howe

More. Better. Integrated.
Ryan Gedney

Ordering Complexity
Patrick Schumacher

Digital Craft
Monica Ponce de Leon

On Intimacy and Design
Ramona Albert and Christopher Johnson