# Architectural Follies > In this course of Architectural Follies, you will be designing a pavilion using the various computational design methods, morphological and geometrical strengthening techniques addressing building systems. The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to alternative ways in… ## At a glance - Format: On-demand course - Price: €350.00 (list €400.00) - Difficulty: Beginner - Duration: 7 + 1 Sessions (32 Hours) - Schedule: Mar 5 & Apr 8, 2021 - Instructors: Erick Carcamo - Categories: Architectural Design, 3D Modeling, Design Workshops - Software: Autodesk Maya, Grasshopper 3D - Students: 30 - Rating: 5.0 / 5 - Canonical: https://paacademy.com/course/architectural-follies-studio-eric-carcamo - Enroll: https://paacademy.com/course/architectural-follies-studio-eric-carcamo --- ## About this course Architectural Follies is a parametric design studio course on PAACADEMY that teaches computational design and 3D modeling through the creation of an architectural pavilion. Using Autodesk Maya and Grasshopper 3D, participants explore digital geometry, materiality, color, and tectonic form through a blend of software tutorials and architectural theory. The studio investigates follies as a design typology and challenges participants to develop a pavilion that operates between decoration, structure, and spatial experience. ## What you'll learn - Design pavilions using computational methods and geometrical techniques. - Explore the relationship between digital geometry, materiality, and human activities. - Investigate the concept of "follies" in architectural design. - Develop advanced skills in Autodesk Maya and Grasshopper 3D. Understand the cultural and historical context of architectural forms. ## Methodology What is folly: The folly is an architectural form that grew out of well-manicured landscapes in 18th-century Europe. Typically, follies were created primarily as forms of decoration, and often served no functional purpose. A lot of their designs were purely sculptural, or even out of place within their context; their scale and proportions were arbitrary. Yet despite classicizing and orientalizing themes, despite attempts to make these structures appear to be from “other” places or “other” realities, traditional vegetated follies were symptomatic of the time and place in which they were made. Many of these structures evoked architecture of the past, while many suggested could suggest timeless origins. Some could also be designed to appear as though miraculously preserved, others were built as ruins. Ironically, these idiosyncratic structures have become referents for contemporary follies. Yet the role of follies has transformed along with the philosophies held by those who create them. In this Design Studio, we will create a project taking on different approaches towards this folly legacy, with varying degrees of loyalty towards tradition. All will take inspiration from individual aesthetics within a garden or urban landscape, yet some projects may deny the possibility of a structure with purely a decorative role. Collectively, they will embrace the ability of architecture to create, so the discussions of beauty, grotesque, whimsy, and parametric can be placed in a contemporary architectural setting. This class will be organized into two combined parts: tutorials and theory lectures. By mixing the highly specific realm of software tutorials and the more expansive cultural framework, students will be asked to articulate their design processes in both manners, by achieving high expertise in the tools and by understanding the role of those tools within the culture of architecture at large. In current times it is expected that contemporary architects have the highest degree of expertise in a large array of tools and technologies, there is no doubt that technology has revolutionized the way we design nowadays, but at the same time, students must engage both technology and theory in a way that coherent thinking goes through all design processes, instead of merely relying on rule-based systems that only follow steps instead of ideas. - Objective 1: To investigate novel forms of tectonics by means of 3D computational design modeling. - Objective 2: To expand on the notion of color beyond the metaphoric or banal. - Objective 3: To develop advanced technical skills within contemporary software (Autodesk MAYA & RHINO). - Objective 4: To understand the genealogy of an architectural problem. ## Curriculum ### Session 1 - Part 1 (04:09:51) ### Session 2 - Part 1 (03:59:54) ### Session 3 - Part 1 (04:05:19) ### Session 4 - Part 1 (04:11:13) ### Session 5 - Part 1 (03:43:19) - Part 2 (16:41) ### Session 6 - Part 1 (04:23:48) ### Q&A - Part 1 (01:44:43) ### Session 7 - Part 1 (03:58:49) ### Session 8 - Final Presentation (03:55:42) ## FAQ ### What is Autodesk Maya used for in architectural design? In architectural design, Autodesk Maya is primarily used for complex 3D modeling, surface manipulation, and animation of geometric forms that are difficult to produce in traditional BIM or CAD environments. Its NURBS and polygon modeling tools allow designers to work with highly articulated surfaces, control mass and volume, and explore color and material in ways that go beyond the limitations of standard architectural software. Maya is also used in conjunction with Grasshopper via data exchange or scripting to drive parametric logic through visual forms, making it a tool of choice for experimental and computational design studios. ### What does the Architectural Follies course at PAACADEMY cover? The course is structured in two combined parts: software tutorials and theory lectures. On the theory side, participants explore the genealogy of follies from their origins in 18th-century European landscapes through their role in contemporary architectural thinking, examining notions of beauty, grotesque, whimsy, and parametric form. On the technical side, participants develop advanced skills in Autodesk Maya and Grasshopper 3D to design a pavilion using computational modeling, morphological techniques, and geometrical strengthening. The design addresses building systems, tectonic logic, digital materiality, thickened poche, structure, mass, volume, color, and animation. ### Do I need prior experience in Maya or Grasshopper to take this course? The course is designed to develop advanced technical skills, which implies a working baseline in both Autodesk Maya and Grasshopper 3D. Participants who are entirely new to either tool would find the pace demanding, as the tutorials move into complex modeling and design development without covering introductory fundamentals. Some familiarity with 3D modeling and computational design workflows is strongly recommended. The course also asks participants to engage with architectural theory alongside the technical content, so comfort with design thinking and discourse is equally important. ### What will I produce by the end of the Architectural Follies course? Participants will design a pavilion that responds to a specific site, program, and environmental logic through computational design methods. The project will demonstrate a coherent relationship between morphological form, geometric structure, digital materiality, and human activity. Technically, participants will develop advanced skills in Autodesk Maya and Grasshopper 3D and learn to articulate design processes across both software and theory. Beyond the project itself, participants will gain an understanding of how to move from idea to fabricable design using contemporary architectural tools, with the workflow itself designed as carefully as the object it produces.