ARCHITECTURAL PROCEDURAL MODELING MARKO KOLJANČIĆ MAKSIM ŠESTIĆ INOVA INFORMATIČKI INŽENJERING

PROCEDURAL MODELING Procedural modeling is an umbrella term for a number of techniques in computer graphics to create 3D models and textures from sets of rules. The output is called procedural content, which can be used in architectural design, simulations, gaming, movie industry... A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

MODELING TECHNIQUES L-Systems, fractals, and generative modeling are procedural modeling techniques since they apply algorithms for producing scenes. The set of rules may either be embedded into the algorithm, configurable by parameters, or separated from the evaluation engine. A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

DATA AMPLIFICATION Procedural models often exhibit database amplification, meaning that large scenes can be generated from a much smaller amount of rules. Seemingly simple algorithms may produce very complex datasets. A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

REPRODUCING THE OUTPUT If the employed algorithm produces the same output every time, the output need not be stored. Often, it suffices to start the algorithm with the same random seed to achieve this (that is, if algorithm implements a level of randomness in it). A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

BASED ON RULE SETS Although all modeling techniques on a computer require algorithms to manage and store data at some point, procedural modeling focuses on creating a model from a rule set, rather than editing the model via user input. A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

RANDOMNESS AND RECURSION Procedural models often make use of some form of randomness. For example, if a procedural model like a tree is built from by making use of several random numbers, then the entire tree can be rebuilt by just resetting the seed to its initial value. A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

BEATS MANUAL DESIGN Procedural modeling is often applied when it would be too cumbersome to create a 3D model using generic 3D modelers, or when more specialized tools are required. This is often the case for plants, architecture or landscapes. A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

SOFTWARE TOOLS Using software modeling tools – such as Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max, Grasshopper for Rhino, or Side Effects' Houdini – user can create simple geometric primitives and modify them into architectural pieces using various transformations and geometric operations. A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

A R C H I T E C T U R A L P R O C E D U R A L M O D E L I N G | I N O V A

REFERENCES: Autodesk Revit Architecture Autodesk Maya Autodesk Dynamo for Revit Autodesk 3ds Max Grasshopper for Rhino Side Effects Software Houdini