An Algorithm That Makes a Tower EVOLVE, Live

A population of shapes#

An evolutionary algorithm works like natural selection, only faster. You start with a population of shapes, all different. Each one is judged by a criterion, here the sun: how much radiation the tower receives. The best ones survive, combine and produce the next generation. After a few dozen generations, the shape that remains wasn’t drawn by anyone: the computation found it.

Who does what#

Rhino, Grasshopper, Ladybug and Galapagos: every point on the chart is a shape that was tested

Rhino and Grasshopper hold the tower’s geometry and the parameters that deform it.
Ladybug measures the solar radiation on each variant, using the site’s climate data.
Galapagos is the evolutionary engine: it tries, judges, crosses over, tries again.

On the scrolling chart, every point is a shape that was tested; the curve climbs as the tower searches for its form.

This isn’t Revit#

There’s no BIM model here: what you see is the computation. But the idea is the same one behind every optimization, from façades to MEP routing: you describe the shape with parameters, define what you want to maximize, and let an algorithm explore what you’d never have time to try by hand.

Watch the video#

One minute, vertical: the tower changing shape live, the sun judging it, the chart climbing. The video is in Italian.

The full video is on YouTube: if you liked it, subscribe to the channel and hit the bell for the next episodes.

shorts grasshopper galapagos ladybug

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