COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN:
3-D GEOMETRICAL MODELING AND VISUALIZATION

ARCH 2710: AUGUST 26, 2025

Assignment 1: TECHNOLOGY SETUP & CASE STUDY SELECTION
PART 1 Setup, parts 1 to 5, due August 28 (prior to class if possible)
PART 2 Case Study Selection due September 4 (by the end of the day)

For anyone new to IT resources at UVA, ensure that your University computer accounts are fully activated, including Email and UVa OneDrive accounts. The School's IT web site has additional information on how to setup your computer to access School resources and regarding software for faculty and students. The full setup and software recommendation is less relevant to students ernolled in the class who's home department is outside the school. Also note that students from outside the School who are registered for the course will have 24/7 access to public computer workstations in Campbell Hall as well as Virtual Computers. However, access rules may evolve due to Covid-19.

The only required expense for the class is that you Purchase Rhino 8.0 for Windows (purchase at Cavalier for $95) or in the interim use the free trial version from the Rhino3d.com web site. Although not required, you will be encouraged to consider the purchase of V-Ray for Rhino through an academic pricing program established fby Chaos Group. This will be further discussed in the workshops and is not needed at the start of the semester.

PART 1: TECHNOLOGY SETUP

Note that a university wide account provides access to School of Architecture resources. Use the same university UserID and Password within the School. For the quickest response to issues, IT support requests should be submitted online (note: you will prompted to login to Netbadge to enter this site).

Setup steps 1 through 3 below are generally expected of all UVA students. Steps 4 through 6 below are related to resources needed by this and other classes in the School of Architecture. Here is a summary of 7 setup steps, the first five of which continuing UVA students have likley completed already.

1. Setup a University wide Email and Netbadge if you haven't already done so by starting here.
2. Setup a University Zoom account by following these instructions or additional contact options for office hours.
3. For off-grounds access to needed file server resources (expanded online workspace), estabish a UVA VPN account.
4. Acquire a copy of Rhino 8.0 from Cavalier Computers.
5. For access to the School's VIrtual Workstations through UVA's Netbadge System, see these instructions.
6. Begin to browse the web site for the class at https://web.arch.virginia.edu/ARCH 2710.
7. Stay tuned to details regarding an optional V-Ray for Rhino purchase.

PART 2 - CASE STUDY SELECTION

Select a design project case study (e.g., architecture case study, landscape architecture case study, environmental sculpture, archeological site, bridge, boat, biological entitiy, etc.) for exploration during the semester.

The selection of the design case study project is up to you. It should be supported by a well documented source of information. Architecture or landscape architecture students should pick a case study from one of these two fields. Students from other fields can also pick from these two fiels, or may consider some alternative options as identified above. It's essential to have reasonable documentation to work with, including building plans, sections, elevations and perspective drawings, or equivalently detailed illustrations from other fields (Ernst Haeckel's 19th century studies of Radiolarians). At your discretion you may choose a project from any geographical and cultural context that may stimulate your interest. On the one hand, be cirumspect with respect to choosing a geometry that may be too difficult to follow from available sources or where there may be too many gaps to obtain a coherent view of the case study. On the other hand, as long as the documentation is consistent, you should be able to proceed without having exact dimensions for every part of your case study or full detail.

You are welcome and encouraged to meet with your SIA (TA) or Earl Mark to discuss possible project ideas. Your SIA will be announced soon.

Finally, eMail a short note to the SIA (TA) mentor whtat will be assigned to you and to Earl Mark ejmark@virginia.edu identifying the case study and the basis for your interest. We will then review your selection to help ensure that it's one that is manageable or make some alternative suggestions.

NOTES:

1.Design students may optionally coordinate the selection of a project with that of a case study from another course with permission of that course's instructor.

2. You will have the option to continue with the same case study or change to another case study throughout the fall semester at your discretion.

3. Students from outside the School of Architecture are welcome to consult directly with Earl Mark and/or their SIA (TA) on a case study appropriate to their area of interest or are welcome to study a work of design or architecture (apart from Radiolarians see also On Growth and Form  referenced below for some topics, although you are not bound by these.

4. The Fine Arts Library Reference Librarian has in the past several years recommended some on-line resources. These resources are availble through UVA's VPN system. A few more online options are also added below.

UVAs Online resources include (VPN access required) :

Finally, you may wish to look ahead at part 1 of the next assignment, Exercise 2: Symmetry Transformations in Plan and Elevation (to be updated soon for 2025) which we be how we begin to explore geometry primitives (e.g., lines, circles, arcs, etc.) in the discussion session/workshops and construct the initial schematic geometry of your chosen case study.