Course Content
5 Lessons
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This workshop is for architecture and structural designers and/or students who are interested in the simultaneous design of structure.
2 courses5.0
Evolutionary Computation (EC) is a sub-field of artificial intelligence (AI) which used the “Evolutionary Algorithm” (EAs) to solve problems that have too many variables for traditional algorithms. This method uses to select the best alternatives between various solutions based on problems’ criteria and constraints known as “Optimization”. The engineering community (including architects and structural Eng.) could benefit from this design method as a rapid and high-quality decision-making method and tool to increase the speed and quality of their design choice in the building design field.
This workshop’s participants would learn how to use the EAs to study the effect of architectural design decisions on buildings’ structures’ performance and how to select optimum design alternatives among various design solutions. To achieve this goal, we use “Karamba3D” as a Finite Element (FE) analysis tool which provides an accurate analysis of spatial trusses, frames, and shells in the early design stage, and, “Galapagos” as an optimization tool based on the genetic algorithm. They are both fully embedded in the parametric design environment of Grasshopper, a plugin for the 3D modeling tool Rhino. This makes it easy to combine parameterized geometric models, finite element calculations, and evolutionary optimization algorithms altogether.
Element Analysis: Understand the main criteria and evaluation factors for conducting Element analysis using Karamba3D.
Modeling Structures: Learn how to model and analyze simple structures in the early design stage with Karamba3D.
Evolutionary Algorithms: Grasp the basic concepts and applications of Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) in architectural design.
Genetic Algorithm Optimization: Discover how to use Galapagos for optimization and establish a design framework in the architectural design process.
Design Workflow Integration: Learn to create a generative structure and optimize architectural designs by integrating modeling, analysis, and evolutionary optimization techniques in Grasshopper.
This workshop presents a computer-aided design framework for the generation of non-standard structural forms in static equilibrium using Karamba3D and Galapagos, as Finite Element analysis tools and Genetic Algorithm optimization tools, respectively.
The design workflow relies on the implementation of a series of operations (generation, evaluation, optimization, and regeneration) that allow to the creation of multiple design alternatives and to navigate in the architectural design space according to objective and subjective Criteria defined by the designer.
This workshop is for architecture and structural designers and/or students who are interested in the simultaneous design of structure and architecture. All modeling and computational analysis will be done in the grasshopper/Rhino7.
Having beginner to intermediate knowledge of Grasshopper is a must. Karamba3D will be used for modeling and analyzing the structure during sessions. No prior Karamba3D knowledge is required. The trial Karamba3D version is sufficient. The Evolutionary Optimization Algorithms will be explained from scratch and Galapagos, as the single objective optimization tool based on the genetic algorithm will be introduced. Prior knowledge of optimization algorithms is an advantage but not necessary.
Course Content
Ghazal Javidannia is a Computational Design Architect specializing in generative design and optimization using evolutionary algorithms. She holds a Ph.D. from Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) in Tehran, focusing on computational design and structural performance. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at eCAADe and SimAUD.
Javidannia has led international workshops on architectural optimization and collaborates with major design firms on building performance simulation and AI-driven parametric design.
I just wrapped up Evolutionary Computational Design — and honestly, it was pretty cool! The course showed me how to use Karamba3D inside Grasshopper/Rhinoceros 3D to analyze structural performance, and then apply an evolutionary solver Galapagos to optimize designs based on real structural criteria (like load, shell/truss behavior, efficiency).  By the end I felt I could explore many structural‑architecture options and pick the best one — not just by how it looked, but by how it performs. If you’re into architecture or structural design and want to combine creativity with engineering logic, this course gives a nice, practical jump‑start.
The course was really beginner friendly. Best Part was how to transform mutliple-objective fitness function into one relation that fits iinto galapagos. Really cool and really useful!
Interesting topic, thanks for such a nice workshop!