Rasa

Task 0 - Rhino 2D

Delightful picture made with Rhino tools. This was my first time using Rhino so I tried using as many commands as possible, including line, polyline, circle, trim, text, offset, hatch, etc.

Task 1 - Rhino + 3D printer

A cloud sculpted using Rhino tools - ellipsoids, boxes, Boolean union, and Boolean difference. My first venture into 3D printing—successfully achieved on the third attempt!

Task 2 - Grasshopper + Lasercutter

A lake created in Rhino from lines and polylines, extruded in Grasshopper and laser cut into a physical model.

First time ever using Grasshopper!

Task 3 - Architectural space

A cloud and stars composition, which can also be interpreted as paths for observation and small rest areas. Created using Rhino and Grasshopper. I made contours with Rhino curves and extruded them with Grasshopper.

Task 4 - A roof structure

For my third attempt at working with Grasshopper, I explored designing a roof structure with adjustable elements—enabling modifications in rotation and connection points. My goal was to refine these parameters based on structural analysis results to achieve the most efficient and stable design.

Task 5 - Karamba calculations

Model 1

In Task 4, I designed a roof structure composed of columns, beams, and trusses using circular cross sections with a diameter of 15 cm and a wall thickness of 4 mm. However, after running structural calculations in Karamba3D, it became clear that this configuration resulted in excessive deformations: 0.49 cm under gravity load, 131.8 cm under lateral load, and 35.8 cm under mesh (roof) load. Initially, I attempted to resolve this by switching to the same 15 cm circular cross section but with a solid profile. Unfortunately, the deformations remained far too large, indicating that a more significant change was necessary—either in the structure itself or in the choice of cross sections.

Firstly, I tried to change cross sections. After a series of adjustments and some research, I decided to switch to square hollow sections (SHS), selecting SHS 300x12.5 for the columns and beams, and SHS 150x6 for the trusses. These changes significantly improved the stiffness of the structure. Additionally, I refined the model by rotating beams and moving connections between elements (explained in Task 4). As a result, I was able to reduce all maximum displacements: 0.07 cm under gravity load, 3.4 cm under lateral load, and 0.94 cm under mesh (roof) load.

Model 2

Stress/strength ratio, gravity load

Stress/strength ratio, mesh load

Stress/strength ratio, lateral load

Displacement, gravity load

Displacement, mesh load

Displacement, lateral load

Model 2

After running Karamba3D calculations on the first model, it became clear that the columns and beams had to be quite thick in order to achieve acceptable deformations with one column. As an alternative approach, I explored the option of adding more columns to the structure. This allowed me to use more slender elements throughout - specifically, SHS 160x16 for all members - while still maintaining sufficient structural strength and stiffness. The result was a structure with minimal displacements (less than 1 cm under all loads) and more elegant and visually refined appearance.

Stress/strength ratio, lateral load

Displacement, lateral load

Task 6 - Hand calculations

Cantilever beam under a uniformly distributed load

As an architect, this was my first time performing structural calculations, so I started with a simple cantilever beam under a uniformly distributed load. I began by limiting the maximum deflection to 10 mm. Based on that, I calculated how long the beam could be using my initial architectural design: a solid circular steel beam with a 15 cm diameter. The result was a maximum length of 2.14 meters.

Afterward, I wanted to push the design further and explore what kind of beam would be required for a longer span, for example, a 3.5-meter beam. To do this, I calculated both the moment of inertia and the section modulus based on the bending moment.

With these two parameters, I was able to identify several beams that meet the structural requirements. Among them, I found square hollow sections that I had previously used in my Karamba 3D model calculations for the first design.

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