2.3.2. THE SCENE OBJECT COMPONENT

If you wish to exert algorithmic control over geometry or materials in a daylight model, you should use the Scene Object component. The Scene Object component assigns materials to geometric data based on a material ID or description. The geometric data can be referenced from Rhino geometry, or generated from scratch using native Grasshopper components.

Setting scene geometry by referencing a Rhino object

Setting scene geometry created in Grasshopper (circular surface of radius 5)

1. Number Slider
2. Construct Point
3. Circle CNR
4. Boundary Surfaces
5. Scene Object

Once geometry has been set, materials can be selected using the Material parameter dropdown menu, or set using an external source:

Setting a material by (1) dropdown selection OR (2) external source

In both cases, the list of available materials derives from the DIVA material library. When making a selection via external source, you may provide the material ID, or a substring that uniquely identifies the material ID — such as "ground_20" in lieu of "OutsideGround_20".

You may also bypass the library entirely by providing a full Radiance material description: The output of the Scene Object component is simply the input geometry, with a material attached as an object string. This means you can perform geometric transformations on the object before and/or after material assignment.

INPUTS

• [G] Geometry

  Brep, Surface, or Mesh

  Object geometry.

• [M] Material

  string

  Material ID or description.

OUTPUTS

• [O] Scene Object

  Brep, Surface, or Mesh

  Same as input geometry, but with material data attached.