Alfonso López Ruiz

Alfonso López Ruiz

he/him

Assistant Professor at University of Zaragoza

Foundations of Computer Science (30717)

Undergraduate course, University of Zaragoza, Department of Computer Science & Engineering Systems, 2026

This course introduces computer science through a practical lens for architecture students. During the 2025-2026 spring semester, we rebuilt the practice material as a public Quarto site, moving from introductory programming exercises to visual, architectural workflows with Processing, Java, Excel, Grasshopper, semantic BIM, and a Java-based 3D visualizer.

Creative coding Processing sketches are used as a gentle bridge into programming, pixels, color, animation, and interaction.
Student typing code in a Java programming environment
Java problem solving Eclipse, conditionals, loops, arrays, functions, debugging, algorithm timing, prime sieves, and sorting exercises.
Parametric vase model generated in Grasshopper and Rhino
Parametric design Grasshopper and Rhino connect visual programming with architectural form, variation, and procedural modeling.
Dense point-cloud reconstruction of the Goya statue
Semantic BIM Students explore IFC models, ontologies, and reasoning queries to understand geometry as structured information.
Side-by-side render comparison with few samples and many samples
3D visualization A Java visualizer helps students inspect cameras, lights, materials, sampling, packages, and rendering concepts from code.

The practice sequence is designed to keep programming connected to tangible outputs: solving numerical problems in Java, measuring algorithm performance, building parametric models, querying BIM information, and experimenting with a small 3D rendering project. The updated material is available through the course website and repository below.

Course site GitHub