Procedural Longhouse

Leaving the palisade aside for the moment, I’ve turned my attention to the longhouse itself.

We will need several of these, and there will need to be some variation between the structures. The research shows that they tend to follow a common plan, with some variation–especially the number of ‘sections’ within one structure, allowing different numbers of residents/families to live in each longhouse.

All these things make the longhouse models good candidates for Houdini’s procedural approach.

I’m starting with the basic exterior structure, creating the pattern of the longest upright poles that support and shape the building. I’m including controls that will allow us to specify the number of internal sections, and tweak things like the exact height, the width of the doorway, and so on.

Here’s a video showing a comparison of the previous project’s longhouse (in blue), its frame, and my procedural frame so far:

Next I’ll start adding the horizontal supports and some internal structure.