Rhino is a 3D modeling and computer-aided design (CAD) software used by many in architecture. It has a very user-friendly interface and it has many applications for students, which makes it a fan-favorite for architecture students.
My first experience with Rhino was in the middle of my first semester. For building real life models, it is much more efficient and precise to use a laser cutter. This is where you insert the material, upload a design, and a laser cuts through your material and makes the pieces that you want. It’s super helpful, and I wanted to use the laser cutter but the only problem was I needed some way to digitally draw my designs. So, I learned how to use Rhino. It took a while, but I slowly learned it, and only stayed in the world of 2D, never getting into the 3D stuff.
Then I had a class this semester, my second semester Visual Communications class. Last semester was hand-drafting, this semester is all digital. This semester I’ve learned a lot so far in the Rhino world. I’m actually good at 3D modeling designs now, and I’ve also learned many new commands and tools that I didn’t before. As the class goes on I keep learning more and more that I can use to get better and quicker at 3D modeling.
Rhino has several applications. As I mentioned before, it’s very useful for laser cutting. Another thing it has use for, although not the best, is drafting floor plans. It does have object snaps, and user input for distances, so for drafting it does work well, but AutoCAD might still have the edge over Rhino for 2D drafting. The most important application of Rhino is taking a plan of your building, and then extruding it (making it 3D) to turn a 2D plan into a 3D model. This is where Rhino is so important in Architecture.
I’ve made many things so far. We’ve done some stuff in 2D, but in 3D we’ve made some cool designs.The Eiffel Tower was a cool one. It also taught me some very valuable tools in 3D modeling. There’s a whole group of tools that go under the category ‘boolean‘. They’re all very helpful for modeling. An example is boolean union where it brings two 3D objects together, or boolean intersection, which takes two 3D objects and only keeps the parts that intersect with one another, deleting the rest. That tool was very helpful for the Eiffel Tower.
At first, I was skeptical about 3D modeling. I was worried and felt overwhelmed with all there is to learn, with all the commands and tools. But, I’ve already grown very fond of the capabilities that I have now obtained now that I’ve entered this world and I look forward to continuing on.
I remember using one of these computer aided design software (although I don’t exactly remember which one) in middle school for my design class. Despite finding it interesting; I found it quite difficult. While I was looking at your designs, I couldn’t help but admire them because I am aware of the difficulty behind creating such models.