Connections

Procedurally generating 3D cities

3D rendering of a city made of cylindrical towers and connecting lines
Duration: November 2022 (3 weeks)
Tools Used: Rhino3D, Grasshopper, Python

Connections is a collection of 3D models. The interconnected towers are inspired by cities with skywalks, such as those around the Indianapolis Convention Center that I visited the summer prior.

View Collection

Script Development:

This project explored parametric design, that is, the models are procedurally generated using the CAD software Rhino 3D and the node-based scripting plugin Grasshopper. Scripting nodes perform a calculation on some inputs and either let you use that results as an input for another node, or create a 3D shape from the result.

My script places cylindrical towers on top of various points on a grid, and then connects some spots on different towers with a tube-like skywalk. In addition to built-in nodes, I created a custom node using Python to help choose which towers to connect.

Input side of script with the following inputs: City radius, tower spacing, grid shifting, tower frequency, flory height, story height, average stories, story variation. Full script, with about 35 nodes.

Some user-controlled inputs I defined, which influence the resulting 3D model, include city radius, tower frequency, tower height, tower variability, and skywalk frequency.

Final Designs:

For the final collection, I wanted to capture a variety of what can be accomplished using the different parameters.

The Castle is a small, medieval castle–inspired design.

About a dozen medium towers, with few connections between them.

The City is a bit larger and more densely connected.

About 25 medium height towers, with many connections between them.

Notably, wherever multiple skywalks meet at a tower, a cylindrical "hub" room protrudes outward, with the diameter increasing per screenshot. This ties together the physicality of the structures with the people in them; more skywalks means more people, and a bigger hub is required to facilitate the connections between them.

The Province explores a different direction—many low towers, sparsely connected.

About 25 single- or double-story towers, with only a few connections.

And The Dream takes parameters similar to The City and heightens them, often literally.

Many tall, skinny towers, densely connected.

I particularly like this inside view of The Dream, which highlights the inner latticework of the skywalks and what it might feel like to be inside of this space.

Interior latticework of The Dream

Please note: Images were rendered at a low resolution then upscaled using zyro.ai, so some details may appear inconsistent.