Courses Architectural Design Artefacts of Growth: Biomorphic Structures in Cinema 4D

Artefacts of Growth: Biomorphic Structures in Cinema 4D

Name: Artefacts of Growth: Biomorphic Structures in Cinema 4D
Price: 85.00 EUR

This workshop teaches architects and designers to create organic, parametric designs and renderings using Cinema 4D and Corona Renderer.

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Overview
Content
Instructors
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Date:

Jun 21, 22, 2025

Duration:

8 Hours

Difficulty:

Intermediate

Language:

English

Certificate:

Yes

Registration:

€85.00

Tutor:

Andreas Palfinger

Members:

72.25 EUR (27.75%) discount

Recordings:

Available Indefinitely

Gift Course

Introduction of the workshop:

This workshop provides a comprehensive introduction to organic-parametric design techniques for architects and designers using Cinema 4D and Corona Renderer.

Participants will explore the potential of CGI tools across all stages of the design process, from conceptual modeling and sculpted geometries to procedural architectural details, environments, and animations.

In addition, the workshop includes training in rendering and post-processing workflows, utilizing Corona Renderer alongside Adobe Photoshop and After Effects to create polished images and videos.

What You’ll Learn?

Introduction to Spline, Mesh, and Subdivision Surfaces

Keyframe animation with parametric tools

Sculpting tools

Preparing files for 3D printing

Corona Render workflow (materials, lights, cameras, environments)

Image Post-Production in Adobe Photoshop

Video Post-Production in Adobe After Effects

Artefacts of Growth: Biomorphic Structures in Cinema 4D

Methodology:

Starting from a beginner-friendly level, this workshop gradually introduces more advanced and interconnected workflows for creating parametric systems and animations in Cinema 4D. Through a series of hands-on tutorials,
participants will explore the generation of architectural and biomorphic geometries, including biomorphic pavilions and towers, faceted interiors, animated facades, organic objects, and full-scene environments.

Each project highlights different design strategies and techniques, making use of Cinema 4D’s powerful toolsets, such as MoGraph Effectors, Volume Builder, and the Cloner tool. A dedicated section of the workshop focuses on preparing simple massing models—such as those imported from Rhino—as a base for developing detailed and expressive concept renders. This includes sculpting geometry, assigning materials, designing lighting setups, and crafting spatial atmospheres.

Participants will learn to bring their geometries to life using the Corona Render engine, focusing on materials, lighting, cameras, and environment settings. The post-production phase will also be covered, using Adobe Photoshop for still images and Adobe After Effects for animations.

The introductory lecture "Speculative Futures and Organic Hybrids" frames the technical content within a broader cultural context, presenting important architecture, design, fine art, and fashion projects. It explores the structural logic and formal potential of natural and biological systems, offering inspiration for new kinds of spatial expressions.

This workshop will teach you how to use and interconnect various parametric workflows in Cinema4D. Participants will learn to work with spline- and mesh-based geometry, subdivision surfaces, sculpting tools, and procedural operations such as the MoGraph Effectors and Fields, Volume Builder, Cloner, Atom Array, Voronoi Fracture, Displacements, and more. Further, the workshop covers working on scale and preparing files for 3D printing or bringing them into other software like Rhino or Illustrator.

Additionally, participants will be introduced to keyframe animations. The workshop covers setting up a rendering workflow using materials, lights, cameras, and environments to create high-quality renderings with Corona Renderer, as well as post-processing in Adobe Photoshop and After Effects.

What You’ll Use?

Highlights:

Knowledge Requirements:

A basic understanding of Cinema 4D is recommended but not required.

Content

Intro + PAACADEMY Updates (04:11)

Nature-Inspired Architectural Growth (34:58)

Biomorphic Geometry & Speculative Design

This session explored the intersection of natural geometry and speculative design, demonstrating how simple geometric operations inspired by nature can be used in Cinema 4D to create complex, animated architectural forms and artifacts.

Intro to Cinema 4D (45:41)

Cinema 4D Interface & Tools

This session provided a detailed introduction to the Cinema 4D interface, covering essential tools such as object creation, parenting, object attributes, coordinate manipulation, mesh editing, selection modes, navigation controls, and basic transformation tools

Dynamic 3D Modeling Animation (31:22)

Advanced Cloning & Animation Techniques

This session focused on advanced Cinema 4D techniques including the use of cloners with hierarchical objects, material application, volume builders, and dynamic animation of parameters such as scale, rotation, and subdivision through effectors and shaders to create complex, animated 3D forms.

Complex 3D Crafting (48:41)

Advanced 3D Modeling & Animation Techniques

This session explores creating and animating complex 3D structures using linear cloning, volume building, symmetry, and various modeling techniques for design and 3D printing applications.

Intricate 3D Architectural Facades (59:46)

rafting Dynamic Architectural Tower Models

This session delves into creating intricate architectural forms and dynamic facades for tower structures through advanced 3D modeling and rendering techniques.

Building Complex 3D Towers (49:54)

Architectural Tower Creation in 3D

This session focuses on practical architectural 3D modeling, demonstrating how to construct complex tower designs using Cinema 4D's volume builder, mesh refinement, and Voronoi fracture for floor plates.

Dynamic Facade Geometry Creation (48:39)

Parametric Architectural Envelope Design Techniques

This session illuminates the principles of parametric design for generating intricate architectural facades, meticulously controlling geometric attributes through surface-driven operations and procedural texture applications.

Advanced 3D Visualization Principles (33:19)

Mastering 3D Scene Rendering Techniques

This session comprehensively details 3D rendering workflows, encompassing advanced camera configuration, scene illumination techniques, and output optimization for visual presentations.

Realistic 3D Surface Definition (40:49)

3D Material and Texture Application

This session comprehensively explores advanced material creation, intricate texture mapping, procedural surface detailing, and realistic asset integration within immersive 3D rendering environments.

Model Optimization & Geometry (56:41)

3D Model Preparation & Subdivision

This session delineates methodologies for optimizing 3D models for diverse downstream applications, including additive manufacturing and cross-platform software interoperability.

Important Notes:

This course is beginner-friendly. It gradually advances to experimental architectural design and technical skills, including massing detail for renders or 3D printing.

Assignments will be conducted individually.

Screenshots:

Instructors:

Andreas Palfinger

Biography

Andreas Palfinger is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist and architectural designer, practicing within the frameworks of virtual scenography, organic-parametric geometry, and functional fiction. Speculative approaches are articulated in time-based media, CGI, writing, and sculpture. Andreas worked for MAD Architects (Beijing), the future-oriented design studio Superflux in London, ODA Architecture in New York, Studio Tim Fu, and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). He co-created architectural sets for a VR fashion show and AR theater performances, and recently directed and produced an award-winning short film in Unreal Engine, with special focus on digital architectural worldbuilding. He currently works and lives in New York City as a Fulbright scholar, studying in the Master of Architecture program at Pratt Institute, Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design. Andreas studied architecture, graphic design, industrial design, painting, and animated film at Die Angewandte, University of Applied Arts Vienna, at Bauhaus University Weimar and Pratt Institute, New York City. Recent exhibitions included Art Basel Miami, European Forum Alpbach, Vienna Biennale, and Belvedere 21. He was honored internationally at the International Design Awards, the Art Directors Club of Europe Awards, the Red Dot Awards, the Dezeen Awards, and the New York International Film Awards.