Dynamic Hotlinked Modules (modifiers in modules)

[Sedak]

There is a lot of times that I wish that we had dynamic elements of a module. Like how we have Modifiers on Custom Profiles. There is an option to do that now with Design Options inside the module, but it is not flexible enough in my opinion. We already have a flexible option for height (Element Elevation's, offset, top link...) - this could be an add on to this.

For example (very basic):

I have a room that has a door. That room needs to be placed on several different positions in my project so I am using a hotlink module. But that door needs to be on different positions in regards to the other rooms. I could do that with design option but on a large building that uses parametric design elements, it s not practical. It would be a lot easier if we could just have a parameter inside the module properties that is defined like a modifier in Custom Profiles - i just type in the distance that I need in that specific situation. Or if I need that exact room but streched (moving one wall and streching a zone). This is a simple example but I can see a lot of possibilities.

Also, if you colud connect that properties (modifiers) to grasshopper - that would be awesome.

I made a little mock up of the settings - I also added Classification and Properties that is in my other wishlist.

 

[Barry Kelly]

Your suggestion is fine maybe for one element, but what if you need to slightly modify 4 or 5 or 10 elements.

You are straying from what a module is - a fixed design.

I think it could get quite confusing, quite quickly.

Don't model that door/wall in the module.

You would model it in the master file as you want it in each situation.

Or break the hotlink if you are happy that you no longer want to make overall changes, then you can modify each door.

Design options will work, so long as you never accept any one particular design option - as all the others will be deleted.

So you will have to keep all designs option in your model.

[Sedak]

Thank you! I understand your point — modules are usually regarded as fixed. Here I am exploring a possibility just to upgrade them a bit.

Blocks in autocad were also regarded as something fixed for a long time until they added a possibility of dynamic blocks.

I was thinking more along the lines of families in Revit. Families are like custom profiles with modifiers in Archicad, but in 3D — or, if you prefer, like making GDL objects with parameters, but without programming. In Revit, on every project I work on, I have at least one custom-made family with multiple “modifiers” that also have dependencies between them - all made withouth any coding.

A simple example: I have length A and width B for a box. I can set the area C to be locked, and make A and B dependent on C. If I change length A, width B adjusts automatically so that the area remains constant. Lenght and width are set as easy as modifiers in custom profiles.

This would be also extremely useful for custom-made furniture elements in interior projects. Sometimes you have a large project with the same type of closet that needs to be custom-built — but in a few different sizes. Sure, you can do this in Param-O, in GDL directly, or even model it separately in multiple sizes. However, Param-O is extremely limited, and GDL programming is not user-friendly. (If I need something very specific, I do write GDL code myself, but it’s not realistic to expect most architects to know how to code.)

To be clear — I currently model custom-made furniture elements using modules, the “iceberg method,” plus one custom-made GDL element that stores additional information for that module (like a set of properties referring to the module as a whole — a separate wishlist I mentioned earlier).

Here’s a real-world example:
I had a project with over 300 apartments. The project included parametric design elements, and I was, of course, using Grasshopper with Archicad. There were 5 types of apartments, each with variations in their length (only the position of the front wall varied). One option was to exclude that wall from the module and model it separately — but the problem is that it’s never just that wall. The zone would also need to stretch to match it (among other things), which would have to be placed and adjusted separately over 300 times (and not just once).

Ultimately, to save myself from this repetitive task (witch is user error-prone), I created 5 modules, each with 6 design options, and selected the needed design option in the hotlink settings for that module. That worked fine for this case (especially when we had to change things every so often or if we had to add/remove things), but if I had another element inside the module that also needed to be dynamic, this approach would no longer work as easy. With modifiers, it would be very easy.

I know many people don’t even use modifiers in custom profiles, but I often create custom profiles with 10 or even more modifiers. It’s not for everyone, but it would give us much more flexibility — especially for parametric design. Maybe this implementation isn’t a “module” per se; maybe it’s something entirely different. But from what I can see, modules are currently the closest thing to what I’m describing. Also, I think it's better to upgrade the existing tools than to make new ones that are almost the same as the others.

[Sedak]

Also - we already have a dynamic element in hotlinks - the height that can adjust elevation acording to the host project.