urban coastal bathymetry

FEMA recently released their updated flood maps – Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and there has been some visualizations that attempt to illustrate the what our cities will look like as a result of this rise. Zone maps are useful for policy making but flows on terrain is much more interesting than its boundary. To allow […]
a lesson on digital topography

A quite extensive lesson on how to bring publicly available data into 2d and 3d environments. UPDATED LESSON, MESH GENERATION WITH PYTHON SCRIPT!
re-envisioning the hyde at rensselaer

type : exhibition | location : hyde collection, glens falls new york | exhibition design : ted ngai, andrew saunders | supported by : evan douglis, dean of RPI SoA | funded by : president shirley ann jackson, RPI | fabrication leader : bill bergman | project team : justin ware, caressa siu, ben schneiderman, will pyatt, tom roland, emily broadbent.
urban metabolic morphologies

A collection of urban morphology visualizations based on NASA JPL's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data. It is part of a series of visualizations created for a research I'm working on - urban metabolic morphologies. Data processing done through Matlab, vector data is from the Openstreetmaps project, georeferencing done through QGIS.
endothermic morphologies

Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. This process is one aspect of homeostasis: a dynamic state of stability between an animal’s internal environment and its external environment. Organisms can generally be divided into two
AMPS Research

type : research | developed by : Center for Architecture, Science, and Ecology | Principle Investigators : Ted Ngai, Anna Dyson, Jason Vollen, Peter R. H. Stark, Paul S. Mankiewicz | Researchers : Ahu Aydogan, EmilyRae Brayton, Carmen Trudell | Project Team : Matt Gindlesparger, David Menicovich, Brandon Andow
psychrometrics with Matlab

Continuation of climate visualization tutorial with Matlab. This tutorial shows how to plot TMY3 weather data on psychrometric chart.
AMPS Mockup

type : research | developed by : Center for Architecture, Science, and Ecology | Principle Investigators : Ted Ngai, Anna Dyson, Jason Vollen, Peter R. H. Stark, Paul S. Mankiewicz | Researchers : Ahu Aydogan, EmilyRae Brayton, Carmen Trudell | Project Team : Matt Gindlesparger, David Menicovich, Brandon Andow
Ecophysiological Architecture

Morphology and physiology are two sides of the same coin. Here are selected projects from the studio I taught at CASE RPI, investigating the architectural potential of sustainable building building strategies inspired by eco-physiological mechanisms of animals.
parametric design workshop 2010

Here are some of the images from a 5-week design workshop held by and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture and the Politecnico di Torino Faculty of Architecture II.
climate visualization with Matlab

This tutorial goes through the process of visualizing TMY3 (Typical Meteorological Year) data using Matlab.
amps on A+U

type : research | developed by : Center for Architecture, Science, and Ecology | Principle Investigators : Anna Dyson, Jason Vollen, Ted Ngai, Lupita Montoya, Paul S. Mankiewicz | Researchers : Ahu Aydogan, EmilyRae Brayton
insolar louver system

This definition extends the GH powercopy to be parametrically associated with the solar geometry obtained through the insolar radiation algorithm. It is part of a larger series related to the idea of Environmental Parametrics
GH powercopy

This definition is inspired by David Fano's Parametric Truss tutorial, which can be found here. This version extends the approach to the 3 dimensions by utilizing the normal vector of the surface. Please complete Fano's tutorial before view this one.
insolar component population

This is a follow up tutorial that shows the whole process of using the insolar definitions (analemma, day and current time) in conjunction with the mesh component population definition. It is a 2 step process and make use of box morph. It is part of a larger series related to the idea of Environmental Parametrics.
component population on mesh

This file populates a set of geometric components (examples with 4 or 8 components included) on a colored mesh. The color information is a way to embed external data into the geometry and give you instant feedback about the perfomance. The data can come from Ecotect analysis, the sun system which is available here, or any other analysis software. M
image mapping on mesh

This example shows how to map images onto NURBS surfaces and output as mesh. This is one part of a larger series that uses the color space method of component population, which as a conceptual framework, I will name this Environmental Parametrics here. It uses the RGB space as a way to to embed external data to create a dialogue with geometry, thus
multipoint attractor on mesh

This example file shows how to use 3 points (or as many as you want) to create a color mapping that can be used with the component population tutorial. As a conceptual framework, I will name this Environmental Parametrics here. It uses the RGB space as a way to to embed external data to create a dialogue with geometry, thus giving it an overall geo
geodesic sphere

a simple construction of a geodesic sphere in a hex grid. the construction method is based on a icosahedron.
stereographic projection

The stereographic projection was originally known as the Planisphere projection, known to Hipparchus and Ptolemy and was often used to create celestial charts in ancient time. This example inflates any CONVEX polyhedra into a sphere and projects its vertices and edges onto a horizontal plane from the "north pole".
parametric brick tiling

This example file takes and the accompanying video takes you through the process of creating a simple running bond "brick" tiling on any NURBS surfaces. The example file has an extra set of nodes allowing you to control the amount of rotation each brick will receive to create an overall patterning effect. This rotation process is not part of the vi
mapping projections

A simple example file I use as a teaching tool. The setup starts with a 1 point perspectival system that cast a series on rays through a curve object onto a picture plane. Mapping coordinate is then recorded and remapped onto another NURBS surface of another shape. It introduces the concept of global coordinates vs local coordinates.
thin film solar panel installation

type: installation location: milan, italy status: proposed collaboration: CASE
incident solar | day

This is a re-written version of the sun position algorithm based on NOAA's published algorithm. It is written in VB.net. This definition displays the accumulation of direct solar radiation throughout the day in false color.
incident solar | current time

This is a re-written version of the sun position algorithm based on NOAA's published algorithm. It is written in VB.net. This definition displays the solar geometry, insolar radiation and shadow of the object. This version lets you control the time of day.
incident solar | analemma

This is a re-written version of the sun position algorithm based on NOAA's published algorithm. It is written in VB.net. This definition displays the accumulation of direct solar radiation throughout the year in false color. Daily solar positions are also displayed as an analemma.
ripple pattern generator

a multi-point wave generator. currently configured to use 3-points, but it can easily be modified according to different needs.
sine wave generator

creates a surface based on multiple composite sine curves. for those who need a little refresher app for wave patterns.
jansen mechanism

A grasshopper mockup of Theo Jansen's mechanism of his Strandbeest based on very simple geometries. The same technique can be applied to model / simulate motions of other types of mechanical movements. This particular mechanism uses a number of variables controlling the length and proportion between the individual members to create different kinds
superformula

this is a little tool for ploting shapes based on the superformula algorithm proposed by Johan Gielis.
ecotect mesh data 2 rhino 2

import ecotect mesh data into Rhino and store them as mesh vertex color.
ecotect mesh data 2 rhino

import ecotect mesh data into Rhino and display them as text dots on mesh face.
contraband freedman cemetery

type : cultural | location : alexandria, virginia | status : competition | collaboration : andrew saunders
ecotect analysis grid 2 rhino

import ecotect analysis grid data into Rhino as heightfield surface, then through grasshopper, data is interpreted into geometry.
la.Z tools

5 functions that are meant to speed up common yet laborious tasks. Functions are "Multiple Pipe", "Multiple Extrude Curve on Surface", "Multiple Offset (Open Curves)", "Polygon Select" and "Random Select"
butakovka resort & residences

type : housing | location : almaty, kazakhstan | status : competition 2nd prize | collaboration : deixis [partners: ted ngai, andrew saunders, david riebe], E/Ye Design
parametric hexagon cells

here is a version of the popular hexagon script. what is different about this approach is it generates individual cells that can be unfolded to form molds for tiling.
parametric curve on surface

this script plots sin curves onto surfaces and extrude based on surface normal. if the number of points of each wave is set to 2, it plots a diagrid pattern.
clifton 15 A & B

type : residential development | location : cambridge, ma | client : u n i | status : completed | collaboration : uni [partners: ted ngai, beat schenk, chaewon kim]
boston center for the arts

type : urban design | location : boston, massachusetts | status : competition
k m f a c

type : urban planning | location : south korea | status : competition | collaboration : uni [partners: ted ngai, beat schenk, chaewon kim], peeradorn kaewalai
urban voids

type : urban design | location : philidelphia | status : competition | partners: ted ngai, alice feng
parachut pavillion

type : cultural | location : coney island, ny | status : competition | partners: ted ngai, andrew saunders
tsunami memorial

type : cultural | location : khao lak, thailand | status : competition | collaboration : uni [partners: ted ngai, beat schenk, chaewon kim], peeradorn kaewalai
gwangbok street plan

type : urban design | location : busan, korea | status : competition | partners: ted ngai, alice feng
nam june paik museum

type : cultural | location : south korea | status : competition | collaboration : deixis [partners: ted ngai, andrew saunders, david riebe], mark mistur, ingo gunther