Parametric Factory stories: LEGO by Lorenzo Ferla

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Dear Community members,

Earlier this year, we hosted the Parametric Object Factory challenge, and a number of you shared outstanding works. If you missed the highlights of the challenge, click here to see selected works.

Curious about the journey behind the final submissions? We 're excited to share the stories of the Parametric Object Factory’s winning entries. Our first guest is Lorenzo Ferla, creator of the LEGO object - a crowd favorite now available on BIMcomponents to try out.

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At the end of this post, you can find other submitted objects available for download as well. A big thank you goes to Lorenzo for sharing his journey with GDL and LEGO and the other challenge participants for sharing their work with the global community.

Now, without further ado, let’s pass the mic to Lorenzo!

LEGO, A personal challenge

My name is Lorenzo, I’m an architect and I work as a Building Information Modeling (BIM) consultant at Matteo Thun & Partners office in Milan. I would define myself as a creative, curious, and determined person. I think that curiosity and open-mindedness is the engine for all creatives. These mindsets allow us to improve and evolve in our own paths. Professionally, and in my personal life, I like to share and compare with others, to discuss different matters and to prove myself.

Sharing our passions, doubts and ideas can give meaning and satisfaction to everyday things. As an architect, I’m learning that a very important quality of our work lies in understanding and satisfying the taste and needs of our clients. I define our profession as a blend of architecture and psychology.

Lego Figures 1.png

This first attempt with Geometric Description Language (GDL) design was a good way to test my capabilities outside of my comfort zone. Of course, I have a lot more to discover, and I am interested in exploring a lot more on this topic.

It certainly takes a good programming environment to support architectural design. After I took the initial step to understand the language, my mind started to generate ideas and interesting insights.

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My affinity for GDL was born by chance, when I faced some difficulties creating custom 3D objects in Archicad. Hence my desire to know the programming source of the objects to meet my objectives and requirements, especially in the context of BIM.

Once I recognized the goal, and browsed the available GDL manuals online, I had all the elements needed to test my proficiency.

My original idea was to generate a complex parametric object that was fun and useful for understanding the programming code of this tool, and curious enough to attract attention. Starting from my passion for the famous toy company, as well as the ability of these small pieces to stimulate the proper genius, I thought that a LEGO character with several expressions and facets could be the perfect candidate for this challenge!

“Analyze, deconstruct and simplify”

The first step was to develop a basic geometry. I tried to break down every single piece of my little figure into single elements that I could combine together. Starting from simple extrusions of polygons up to more complex portions, in which spheres, truncated cones, and cylinders were combined.

This preliminary part was a usual approach that I apply in my projects. It is a procedure that I learned to develop and analyze problems, starting from the macro-scale and dividing into micro-elements, like a WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) to be assembled and then connected later.

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Blooming GDL scripts

One thing that I really appreciated about this tool was the trial-and-error process. Consulting the online manual, I read commands and parameters not yet clear for me, but I admit that once I entered in the mood of this new language, I enriched my general skills. By opening objects from the basic library, I gradually understood how to set up and what I could achieve through the GDL code.

Self-assessment and self-learning can be a good way to increase knowledge, but a dedicated training or a consultant would probably be a proper path for learning. I'm still curious about the perspective of GDL language for architecture. The potential value needs to be investigated.

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What can I say about my experience? LEGO was a pleasant testing ground. It was like a game, because every time I created a new feature or added an accessory, many others came to my mind, similar to a forge that constantly churned out ideas. I really enjoyed it a lot!

Sometimes, with the support of my colleague and friend Matteo, we discussed some objectives that we could or wanted to achieve. We made an effort to browse the manual to understand if a code already existed instead of creating a new one. Sharing the experience and ideas was very stimulating and productive.

I created many small tricks inside the object that I would like not to reveal, leaving them like an Easter Egg that a user can discover and is pleasantly surprised by.

Regarding my feedback about the dedicated effort, I would say that I spent 50% of my time modeling and the remaining 50% developing an intuitive interface: my goal was to communicate a simple but interactive idea, which requires the participation and the collaboration of another user to give the desired result. Involvement, dynamism and frictionlessness all played a part to make the whole thing like a game, in which everyone can give their own interpretation.

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Final thoughts

In conclusion, I can say that thanks to the GDL I have acquired and deepened a new methodology for creating objects; a new approach that obviously needs to be improved. I’m sure that curiosity will allow me to always explore new fields that are yet unknown. I will certainly face difficulties, but rather as an incentive to grow and do even better.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the committee for the award granted to me and for the nice words about my work. Reaching first place was a great personal satisfaction!

And don’t forget to create your own LEGO. My object is available for download on BIMcomponents. Simply drag and drop them to your Archicad file.

Click here to download LEGO

Customize your own LEGO figure and enjoy!

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In addition to Lorenzo’s LEGO object, you are invited to download and try out the following objects made publicly available by the participants of the Parametric Object Factory challenge. There are a few that are sure to be handy for your projects!