Extending Processing to CAD Applications

Abstract

The Processing language was created to teach programming to the design, architecture, and electronic arts communities. Despite its success, Processing has limited applicability in the architectural realm, as no CAD (Computer-Aided Design) or BIM (Building Information Modeling) application supports Processing. As a result, architects that have learnt Processing are unable to use the language in the context of modern, script-based, architectural work. This work joins Processing with the world of CAD or BIM applications, creating a solution that allows architects to prototype new designs using Processing and generate results in a CAD or BIMapplication. To achieve this, we developed an implementation of Processing for the Rosetta programming environment, allowing Processing scripts to generate 2D and 3D models in a variety of CAD or BIM applications, such as AutoCAD, Rhinoceros3D, SketchUp, and Revit.