Algorithmic Ramp Tool

Parametric Ramp Design Ramps are an important aspect of inclusive design and are often avoided due to the complexity of designing ramps. Two tools aim to do this. One creates a simple ‘helix’ ramp from a point, whilst the other aids designers in creating unique and interesting ramp shapes to create a design feature, not just an access route.

Ashleigh Vissel 470359741

Contents Introduction - 2 Schema - 5 User Interface - 9 Conclusions - 12

>>Architectural Design Problem: Although the Australian Building Codes Board and the Federal Government have laid out some rules and regulations that are required to be adhered to in order to create accessible buildings. Federal legislation defines accessible as “having features to enable use by people with a disability” which in buildings includes features such as symbols and signage, hearing augmentation, adequate lighting, passing areas and access ways. Although architectural elements such as these are crucial to assisting a diverse range of people with accessibility, the Building Codes of Australia (BCA) outline rules that actually only require some accessibility, not total accessibility, for example, a hotel may only include a select few public areas to be accessible, not all, making many buildings unable to be totally inclusive of everyone.

A second issue with accessibility is the segregation it creates between the average person and those that differ, as it is the assumption that “having impairment is a major limitation”. ‘Inclusive design’ is a term which describes accessible features made for both the average person and those with disabilities which rather than highlight differences, allows everyone to experience architecture in the same way. This includes but is not limited to wheelchair users, people with prams, young children, and people on crutches. Although elevators are a popular inclusive design, they are not quite efficient to move masses of people around a building .

In multi-level architecture, clear access ways means bringing all users to different levels of the building. Due to it being able to be tucked away and take up little space, a common design answer is an elevator or chair lift, solutions that are not only expensive; they’re often not necessarily aesthetically appealing and inefficient at taking larger groups of people from level to level. And although ramps are the inexpensive way to do things and more efficient at moving people and using less energy, they take up far more room and can be difficult to calculate.

To encourage the use of ramps in design, the parametric ramp tools will - Allow easy calculation of a ramp with a known story height - Allow designers to calculate a set of ramps in smaller spaces - Allow designers to create their own shape which can be calculated as a ramp which can be used as a design feature as well as an access path.

The convenient ‘accessible’ solution

VS

Aesthetic ‘Inclusive’ design solution

Mitsubishi Elevators

Phoenix International Media Center, Designed by BIAD

Wheelchair lift

Zurich Cocoon Development, Designed by BASSEL

>>Existing Tools

Online ramp calculators The online ramp calculator works by allowing letting people enter in two values to get a third value, to give them the correct numbers to design a ramp.

Users can then take the results from this tool, and transfer them to paper by hand or using CAD software such as rhino or sketchup.

Designing on Rhino and/or other CAD Once the calculations have been made, using either simple arithmetic and/or online ramp calculating tools, the measurements can then be inputed using the length an height of a rectangle and joining opposite corners to create the total ramp rise.

Once the total ramp rise has been derived, it can be cut and split to the desired ramp runs to create helix ramps and other types of ramps.

Ramp Tool in Revit Revit has developed a more in depth tool which requires no calculations by the designer.

Users chose to build a ramp and can then draw it straight into the design after entering the height of ramp. The tool prompts users to draw a line until the height has been reached. Once the length has been reached, the user clicks again and a balustrade and handrails are also created in 3D. However, the ramp tool is difficult to design landings and change the gradients.

>>Tool Features

Tool 1 - Simple Helix Ramp from Point

The first tool (although, the second tool to be made) is a basic helix ramp tool which is defined by a point. This tool was derived from the way in which I already make ramps in rhino, where I drew a rectangle, connected the corners and split the line up to create another ramp run. This is the solution to designers need for a quick basic ramp.

Tool 2 - Custom Designed Ramp from Curve

This tool was actually the first tool I came up with, inspired by the idea to give designers a tool to be able to design ramps freely with little restriction. Designers begin by creating a curve in which they want the ramp to be in the shape of, and the tool projects the ramp along the curve sloping up with landings where they desire. This is the tool for designers to use when they want the a ramp to be a core design feature to a building.

>> Ramp from Point GH Process

Step 1

Just like I would in Rhino, I start with the measurements I need to get for the length of the ramp. To do this I use the Rise to Run calculation to create a rectangle which would create the total ramp length. A second rectangle is then created by the desired length of the total ramp, so if a designer only has 10m to put a ramp in, they can.

Step 2

The opposite corners of the larger rectangle are joined to create a line which becomes the total ramp length that the required gradient needed to reach the height.

Step 3

The second rectangle which defines the ramp run is divides the ramp length into two to create the first ramp run. The point at the intersection of the line and the rectangle splits the line into two.

Step 4

Points are simply flattened and connected to make a line

Step 5

The point that is defined by the intersection of the ramp is then copied along the line of the rectangle to begin creating starting points for each run of the ramps lengths. They’re then copied to the opposite side to create lines between them to create the zig zag for each ramp run. The top of the rectangle splits and deletes the remaining ramp which is ‘leftovers’

Step 6

Alternate lines are extruded in the opposite directions. The landings are created by offsetting points to the length required for the depth of the landings.

>>Ramp from Curve

Step 1

After drawing a curve and referencing it into grasshopper, the first thing was to work out how to start creating a slope to get the ramp to move upwards. Using trigonometry and the pythagoras theory, I needed to work out the length of the square root of C2 derived from the length of the curve and the total height of the ramp.

Step 2

Simultaneously, to get the landings in, I split the curve at points. To create the points, the curve was divided by the length of each ramp length, without the landings. The landings widths were then created by a copy of the points further down the line to the desired depth of the lending.

Step 3

The divided curve is dived again into points which are then put on a trajectory upwards according to the length of the square root of C square. This is to ensure the the landings can stay planar whilst the curve moves upwards.

Step 4

Points are simply flattened and connected to make a line

Step 5

The points are offset in both directions so the original curve becomes the centre curve of the ramp. The points are again connected to make lines which are then merged and lofted to create the physical ramp plane. The offset is created using a desired total ramp width.

Step 6

The lines from the ends of each ramp are then lofted to create a planar surfaces which are the ramp landings. All the surfaces created are then merged to create one ramp surface.

>>Using Tool 1 The tool is incredibly easy to use. To use this tool you need: - Point in rhino model - Known ramp gradient. For example, fora ramp longer than 1 metre, the law is 1:12 with the ideal ramp being 1:14.

- Known height to reach. This means from the floor to the top of the next floor - Space available for the ramp - Ramp width - Landing depth Tool is in a cluster and require the numbers to be input

epth

mp Ra W idt h

Floor Height

ing D

Land

ient

Grad

ngth

Floor Space Le

Cluster

‘Anatomy’ of ramp output

Original

Increase Floor Space

Increase floor height

Decrease gradient (increase number)

Invert Ramp width (negative to positive)

Extrude Surface

* Extra Surface may be required and can be switched on or off

>>Using Tool 2 To use this tool you need: - Curve in rhino model - Known ramp gradient. For example, fora ramp longer than 1 metre, the law is 1:12 with the ideal ramp being 1:14.

- Known height to reach. This means from the floor to the top of the next floor - Maximum ramp run - Ramp width - Landing depth Tool is in a cluster and require the numbers to be input.

Gradie

W

idt

h

Floor Height

nt

mp

ding

Ra

Lan

th

Dep

Max. Ramp Length

Cluster

‘Anatomy’ of ramp output

Original

Decrease floor height

Decrease gradient (increase number)

Decrease Max. Ramp Length

Increase landing depth

Increase ramp width

* Extra Surface may be required and can be switched on or off

>>Tool 2 Project Typology

All ramp runs are equal inn length.

>>Tool 2 Project Typology

Ramp runs unequal in length

>>Tool 2 Project Typology

Here, the curve is mirrored to produce a second ramp and joined together by a brep to create a longer landing

>>Tool 2 Project Typology

Ramp will stop if the height is too low to complete the whole ramp at desired gradient. Designers can chose to either extend the ramp by changing the gradient to make it longer, to simply stop the ramp as is.

>>Comparison of tool to other tools

>>Improvements Hand Rails

Something that Revit includes that my tool doesnt include is the ability to quickly and effeciently add in hand rails. Revit has a selection of hand rails to choose from, however to a designer who want’s to have control over building details, the grasshopper tool actually can be more effective. A possible way of creating hand rails would be to pull the surrounding edges of the ramp out and off setting or extruding - depending on whether or not the designer wants to create a balustrade or a hand rail - to create a custom parametric ramp.

Type of Ramp

There are many ways to design a ramp, and only two of thw ways have been laid out in these tools. A third tool or a feature on the helix ramp tool would be to create right angle ramps where the landings are on the bend, or a cascading ramp which could go up a hill for example.

Definitions

It would be a useful if for the second tool, designers could simply input a ramp and the ramp will automatically fill up the curve and then give the gradient as an output, instead of designers needing to fiddle around with it.

Landings

The ability to add landings or long landings in the middle of the ramp that follows the curve parametrically would be a useful tool, particularly in things like treetop ramp designs.

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