Computational Massing

While working on the Saint Paul Riversedge project, the team needed a tool to rapidly iterate rough building massings based on the changing parameters of building base sizes and unit quantities. Two buildings on the site, an apartment and condo mix, and a hotel and combo mix, went through many changes as the developer team determined the optimal unit mix for the site. To keep pace with these changes, I developed a Grasshopper script for Rhino that produced 3D building massings based on unit quantities fed through an Excel spreadsheet, while fitting the placed units within a defined building envelope. The script also spat out floor counts and total square footage. The script had a fairly high degree of specificity; for example, I could have the script place all hotel units before placing any condo units, and I could specify that every floor with hotel units needed to also place a laundry closet.