EvoMass
(by Likai Wang)
A toolkit for agile performance-based building massing design generation, optimization, and exploration
Downloads:
15446
Support Email

EvoMass Workshop at XJTLU, Suzhou, China, from Feb 19 to 23, 2024.
For more information, please check here: https://xjtlu.mike-x.com/k0aVZ

Video introducing the new function in version 0.3.2 (link/中文
Video introducing the new function in version 0.3.1 (link/中文) and 0.3.0 (link). EvoMass中文操作简介(Youtube, Bilibili
To renew credits, please expand this section (press the "+ more"), and you'll find the link to apply for a credit renewal code below.
有关更新EvoMass的使用次数(credits),请详见下方介绍,也不必在留言区留言。

EvoMass is an integrated tool for agile performance-based building massing design generation, optimization, and exploration, particularly for optimization-based design exploration. Optimization-based design exploration is aimed to leverage optimization as a means of information extraction for achieving a performance-aware/performance-informed design synthesis process rather than purely looking for a design solution. Therefore, the optimization result is more like a "carrier" of design information revealing architectural implications related to building performance rather than a direct answer to a design problem. Thus, the aim of EvoMass is not to produce eye-catching or "futuristic/parametricism" designs but to provide easy-to-understand design information through orthogonal building massing designs (so the generated designs may look simple and unsophisticated).

  • EvoMass is able to generate building massing designs using subtractive or additive form generation principles, which can be used for rapid virtual prototyping of building massing designs. This, as shown in the below images, can be used for site analysis related to different environmental or performance factors.
  • EvoMass provides a diversity-guided evolutionary algorithm, SSIEA, to enable users to carry out a performance-based design optimization for building massing design. Combining the building massing generative models and SSIEA, the application of EvoMass can produce site-specific and task-specific building massing design solutions.

To help you have a quick start using EvoMass, here is a list of EvoMass Tutorials (the first one is also posted below). In addition, there are still some bugs we haven't found yet. So, it will be greatly appreciated if you can report any problem or bug you identified when using EvoMass to us. To apply for a Credit Renewal Code, please use this link (Google Form), and for users from mainland China, please use this link (腾讯表格). Here is a short video about how to install and activate EvoMass. (relax, the code is free : P)

Here are some papers relevant to EvoMass. If you're interested in the theory or the details of EvoMass, these papers or the Researchgate Project can provide more information about the generative models and SSIEA and help you understand how EvoMass works:

Design-related applications or studies of using EvoMass:
1) Optimization-aided design: two approaches for reflective exploration of design search space (2022)
2) Workflow for applying optimization-based design exploration to early-stage architectural design - Case study based on EvoMass (2022)
3) Exploring the synergy of building massing and façade design through evolutionary optimization (2022)
4) 面向建筑性能的设计优化及设计探索——EvoMass工具简介 (2022)
5) CLIMATE-DRIVEN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN OPTIMIZATION AND EXPLORATION: A Reverse Passive Building Design Approach (2022)
6) Understanding the Span of Design Spaces: And Its Implication for Performance-Based Design Optimization (2022)
7) OPTIMIZATION-BASED DESIGN EXPLORATION OF THE MUTUAL INFLUENCE BETWEEN BUILDING MASSING AND FAÇADE DESIGN (2022)
8) A NOVEL GAN-BASED METHOD FOR BUILDING SURFACE WIND PRESSURE PREDICTION (2022)
9) 衍生式設計結合建築性能最佳化於建築初期階段草案自動生成研究,吳宛霖,成功大學,2022
10) From Separation to Incorporation - A Full-Circle Application of Computational Approaches to Performance-Based Architectural Design (2021)
11) EvoMass + GH_Wind - An agile wind-driven building massing design optimization framework (2021)
12) THE SYNERGY OF BUILDING MASSING AND FACADE An Evo-Devo approach for performance-based design optimization combining facade design with building massing (2021)

Concepts behind EvoMass:
1) ENABLING OPTIMISATION-BASED EXPLORATION FOR BUILDING MASSING DESIGN (2020)
2) ALGORITHMIC GENERATION OF ARCHITECTURAL MASSING MODELS FOR BUILDING DESIGN OPTIMISATION (2020)
3) Subtractive Building Massing for Performance-Based Architectural Design Exploration: A Case Study of Daylighting Optimization (2019)
4) SSIEA: a hybrid evolutionary algorithm for supporting conceptual architectural design (2020)
5) DIVERSITY AND EFFICIENCY: A Hybrid Evolutionary Algorithm Combining an Island Model with a Steady-state Replacement Strategy (2019)

License Cost:
Downloads
For instructions on installing Grasshopper Add-Ons, please see FAQ for details.
Title
Description
Platform
 
EvoMass User Guide
2022-11-21
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
Grasshopper for Rhino 7 for Win
EvoMass v0.3.4 (with examples)
2023-11-23
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
Grasshopper for Rhino 7 for Win
EvoMass v0.3.3 (with examples)
2022-07-12
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
Grasshopper for Rhino 7 for Win
EvoMass v0.3.2 (with examples)
2022-04-19
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
Grasshopper for Rhino 7 for Win
EvoMass v0.3.1 (with examples)
2022-02-13
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
Grasshopper for Rhino 7 for Win
EvoMass v0.3.0 (with examples)
2021-12-08
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
Grasshopper for Rhino 7 for Win
EvoMass v0.2.2 (with examples)
2021-08-25
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
EvoMass v0.2.1
2021-06-27
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
EvoMass v0.2.1(backup)
2021-06-27
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
examples based on Ladybug (for EvoMass v0.2.1)
2021-08-10
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
EvoMass v0.1.1
2020-09-30
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
examples based on Ladybug (for EvoMass v0.1.1)
2021-04-03
Grasshopper for Rhino 6 for Win
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