Welcome!

This is an online repository for architects + designers learning how to program in a three dimensional visual environment. I will use this repository as a resource for the class 4.564 at MIT. Processing will be used as the programming environment and no prior programming experience is required for it. The students completing the workshop will have an understanding of the basic computational building blocks for exploring and form-finding in a 3 dimensional visual interface. 

I chose Processing (www.processing.org) as the programming environment because of several reasons:

• Easy interface – no need to bother yourself with a complex GUI
• Small set of tools – more like a swiss knife rather than a garage of tools. One can focus of programming rather than trying to figure out where the tools are
• Platform independent – PC and Mac users need not envy each other
• Easily publishable – ie, the moment you are done with a project you can immediately publish it online
• Its open-source, free and has a large user community
• For advanced users – you can move over to JAVA seamlessly
• Finally it has a wonderful library of plugins – which allow you to play with sound, video, electronics and so on

About myself. I am an architect, currently doing my PhD in the Computation Group, Dept. of Architecture at MIT. Its a crazy place and am enjoying every bit of it there My research revolves around Design Theory, Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence. I also work with parametric softwares – I have been in the development team of Generative Components. Many of you might have seen it and used it but for those who havent – its a parametric modeling tool (Compare with CATIA, Grasshopper).

Please use this blog to leave comments and feedback!

- Kaustuv.