Hi, first time me posting here regarding my diploma thesis. I would be very grateful if some in here could give me an advice how to continue. I try to describe it in a few words. If you start to get bored and you are just interested in troubleshooting, just skip the background part and continue below: *)
'----------------------------------------------------------------------' The topic is a parametric strategy to combine a arabian housing development with an solar tower plant in subtropical urban areas - actually aiming at saudi-arabian cities. - You just take any geometrical shape which is uninhabited in a city. - DONE - You run an analysis in GH about the best potential for the location of the tower as centre. - DONE (most facts taken from http://www.powerfromthesun.net/Chapter10/Chapter10new.htm) - You cover the area with a dense structural layer of heliostats having different angles concerning their position in the area. -DONE - You develop an urban grid for mobility (like roads and PRT tracks), areas for housing and green areas based on human needs like max. walking distance etc. - DONE At this point you have everything except housing structures...and now comes the trouble part: - the areas/surfaces assigned for housing have to be covered with a maximum density of arabic courtyard houses for different family sizes AND respecting the local lighting conditions there are in regard of the heliostat mirror layer above. Speaking geometrically to cut a long story short: '-----------------------------------------------------------------------' **) I need some kind of circle packing algorithm in GH (with vb?) for a specific shape taking area sizes from an excel-sheet and modifying the circles depending on the light they get at the particular position without overlapping each other. For me it longs for a genetic algorithm which optimizes iterative the max. number of circles on the surface and to be scripted as a VB- component like a mix of this circle packing algorithm (http:// en.wiki.mcneel.com/default.aspx/McNeel/2DCirclePacking.html) with input from excel. Unfortunately I always avoided any vb (i still have some knowledge in rhinoscript though). So if anybody could give me some hints or examples or bright ideas how to face the task it would definitely cheer me definitely up. Anybody being interested can also write me by mail and I would love to send you my ghx.files so far. Thanks, Steffen
