Hello!
In the previous study, I drew the arch curve in Rhino and defined it in Grasshopper. However, in order to make the design fully parametric, I reconstructed the arch curve directly in Grasshopper using the Construct Point and Arc 3Pt components. This allowed the geometry of the arch to be directly linked to adjustable parameters.
In this iteration, I focused on designing not only the voussoirs and their joints but also the springer stones. As I mentioned earlier, the joints between the voussoirs in my initial model were oriented perpendicularly to the base plane—unlike those in a traditional arch. Previously, I had used the Loft and Extrude components to generate the geometry, but this time, I replaced Extrude with the Offset Surface component. This adjustment helped me correct the orientation of the voussoir joints.
Since the voussoirs must transfer their loads to the base, springers play a crucial structural role. My next step was to design parametric springers based on the slope of the arch curve. To achieve this, I needed the surfaces of the voussoirs located at the beginning and end of the arch. I extracted these surfaces using the Deconstruct Brep component, followed by List Item to isolate the relevant geometry.
Then, I used the Project component to align these surfaces parallel to the base plane. By applying the Scale and Move components, I generated the base surface of the springers. Finally, I created the springer geometry using a combination of Loft and Merge components.
However, as shown in the visual, the resulting springer surfaces did not form as expected. This issue will be the focus of my next study.
