Getting Started with Alexandria
Alexandria is designed to allow novice Grasshopper users the ability to quickly and easily create
patterns, geometries, and arrays. Users can then use the various tools to modify the elements they have
created parametrically. On this page, those just getting started with Alexandria can learn the basic
inputs and outputs required to begin their design process.
Every creative and design process is fluid. This list is organized in a way that explains the process of
using the plugin in terms of chronological steps a user may take, but it is not ordered
numerically. Alexandria is designed to be flexible and to avoid having a user follow a pre-determined
algorithm for their creations.
With that in mind, this is a general end-user framework, not the Ten Commandments of Alexandria
(although perhaps that would have been a cooler name). The only rule is to design beautiful things,
whatever they may be.
Foundational Components
Base Geometries
Basic Geometries
Circle | a 1x1 circle
Polygon | a regular hexagon with radius of 0.5 units circle
Rectangle | a 1x1 rectangle
Point Inputs
Attractor Point | a sample point located on the XY-plane for use in point attractor definitions
Origin Point | a point located at world origin, (0,0,0) on XYZ-plane
Curve Inputs
Attractor Curve | a sample curve located on the XY-plane, roughly 12x12 units
Establishing Basic Forms
Construct a Base
Constructing Geometries (Simple)
Construct Point | Create a point from an XY-Coordinate input
Construct Rectangle | Create a rectangle by defining the X- and Y-axes' extents, origin at (0,0,0)
Constructing Geometries (Complex)
Construct + Populate Rectangle | Populate a user-defined rectangle with random points
Construct + Subdivide Rectangle | Evenly sudbivide a user-defined rectangle along the XY-plane
Constructing Geometry Arrays and Voronoi
Construct Geometry Array | Build an array from any closed curve geometry
Construct Voronoi Diagram | Build a Voronoi diagram from a user-defined rectangle and random points
Grid Generation Tools
Constructing Various Grids
Hex Grid Generator | Build a hexagonal grid
Square Grid Generator | Build a square grid
Tri Grid Generator | Build a triangular grid
Evaluate and Manipulate Grids
Grid Evaluator | Identify the curves, vertices, segment midpoints, and cell area centroids of a grid
Grid Scaler | Scale an existing grid (scale centered on cell area centroids); Identify the curves, vertices, segment midpoints, and cell area centroids of a grid
Pattern Geometry Components
2-Dimensional Patterns
Square Patterns
Pattern Components | Define a 2D-pattern based on a user defined grid
Hexagonal Patterns
Pattern Components | Define a 2D-pattern based on a user defined grid
Triangular Patterns
Pattern Components | Define a 2D-pattern based on a user defined grid
3-Dimensional Patterns
Wave Wall
Pattern Components | Define an attractor-scaled "wave wall," constructed from a subdivided rectangle
Extruded Array
Pattern Components | Define an attractor-scaled extruded topography, construct from a geometric array
Operators and Utilities
General Utility Components
Attractor Operators
Attractors | Build generalized attractors from user-defined points and curves; useful for scaling, moving, rotating, extruding, etc. parametrically based on an attractor
Dividers
Input and Output Dividers | A simple solution to create more legible and user-friendly components by adding a space between component inputs and outputs
Stylistic Utilities
Color Picker | A set of predefined color inputs (RGB format) for styling and editing grasshopper display settings
Additional Resources
See a complete list of Alexandria's components
Insight into input/output, functionality, and additional details about Alexandria tools