Design Islamic Geometric Patterns using parametric methods

Gonbadi Ghafari (گنبد قفاری), Maragheh, Iran © Hamid

Tiling, Tessellation and Geometric Patterns are all relate to the idea of covering. They usually encompass a process of subdividing a surface into small parts and then repeat a pattern, tile or template to cover it. In all cases, repetition of the shape should have no overlap and no gap in between. There are various types of tessellation based on different tiles, but there exists only three types of regular tessellation with regular triangles, squares and hexagons. There are also semi-regular and non-regular tessellations as well.

The history of architecture has a broad range of tiling examples which are interesting to study and use for contemporary design applications. Tessellation and Tiling are among the possible design issues with Generative Algorithms and in Grasshopper. It is possible to set up rules to generate a tile and apply these rules to the area which wanted to be tessellated, or there is a potential to design a motif and then proliferate it as a pattern in design space. 

There are various methods and approaches to design tiling. It is possible to use a motif and repeat it like fabric. Having a predefined pattern, one can use transformations to repeat it in the design space. The other way is to extract underlying geometrical rules of points, lines … and then set up the design, using those underlying rules as generative force of design.

At video bellow I tried to show a sample of parametric algorithms that we can use to design Islamic patterns, In the next posts I'll show you step be step designing patterns using Grasshopper.