Cluster Zero
Certificate in Computational Thinking with Grasshopper
An eight-week certificate course in Computational Thinking with Grasshopper.
This is a self-directed course, with structured video lessons and assignments completed at your own pace, and a live session each week with the course leader to keep you accountable and on track.
It is the first programme of its kind to teach the thinking behind Grasshopper, not only the software.
Tekne Lab Computational Thinking
Founding rate £495 - or 2 × £250 over two months.
Accreditation
Tekne Lab has been delivering Grasshopper coaching and training for the last four years, and Jak has been teaching for over ten. That time has been spent learning where people actually get stuck, and what genuinely moves them forward. The Certificate in Computational Thinking is the result of that experience: the same approach, structured into a formal programme and opened up to a wider professional audience.
Tekne Lab is now being established as an official training centre with OCN London, a nationally recognised awarding organisation, and this certificate is being accredited through it. The accreditation is in progress and is expected to complete ahead of the wider course launch.
Cluster Zero runs while this process is underway. You complete the full assessment during the course and receive your Tekne Lab certificate on completion. Once accreditation is confirmed, founding members' certificates are upgraded to the OCN London-accredited Level 4 qualification and backdated accordingly.
The Problem
Computational Design, and Grasshopper in particular, has moved from a niche design skill into something expected across many design industries - but training has not kept pace, nor ever been professionally defined. A great deal of it remains ad hoc, with no shared professional standard.
Following a tutorial is not the same as being able to start from a blank canvas.
Most Grasshopper courses follow the same format: a finished script, explained step by step. You follow along, it runs, and it feels like understanding. When the brief changes, little of it transfers - because the underlying reasoning was never taught.
Tutorials teach sequences, not reasoning
Reproducing a single result by copying a single set of steps does not prepare you to approach a different problem from nothing.
AI without judgement
AI can generate elaborate output with no underlying logic. It is a useful tool for someone who understands the fundamentals, and a liability for someone who does not.
Scripts that cannot be maintained
A script that cannot be read, maintained or handed to a colleague is a liability - the computational equivalent of an unclear drawing, and a common way that knowledge is lost within a studio.
The Shift
The course teaches the thinking that makes Grasshopper effective, not additional features.
Decompose a problem before opening the software. Work with data and systems, not geometry alone. Build scripts that are readable, reusable and robust when the brief changes. This is the difference between a Computational Designer and someone who can only follow instructions.
The aim is to become the author of your own logic - rather than the user of someone else's.
Used well, these skills allow AI to support your design thinking rather than substitute for it.
What past students say
Cluster Zero is a new course. The teaching behind it is not.
This is the first cohort, so there are no graduates of this specific course yet. The methods, however, have been taught to designers for several years. A selection of their feedback is below.
"It's all about understanding the 'why'"
"Amazing comprehensive layering of working knowledge in Grasshopper. It's not just about doing things in the program - it's all about understanding the 'why' you're doing things to generate your outcome. Top notch."
"The best course I've taken in Rhino/Grasshopper"
"Without a doubt, the Tekne Lab course has raised my ability to a much better level. I'd recommend it to anyone who needs to master the fundamentals relatively quickly."
"Every day was an 'aha' moment"
"The whole problem-solving approach was set up in a different way. Learning to break down the workflow and organise the script was a breakthrough."
"I strongly recommend this to professionals of any background"
"The progress I've achieved is reflected in my portfolio. It's all about the right attitude and mindset to make the most of this opportunity."
"It opened my mind and creativity"
"A great experience and opportunity to develop my skills in parametric architecture. I don't have any fear anymore of designing with complex geometries."
The Framework
Four pillars, forming one way of thinking.
The Tekne Lab Computational Thinking framework. The first two pillars provide the vocabulary - geometry and data. The second two provide the reasoning and the professional standards that determine how it is applied.
From shapes to systems
Read geometry and numbers as raw material - points, curves, surfaces, and normalised control that makes parameters behave predictably.
Data principles
Lists and data trees, the real medium of Grasshopper, and resolving data-matching errors rather than working around them.
Bidirectional thinking
Plan a script before opening it, and reverse-engineer any result into the parametric system that produced it.
Professional scripting standards
Name, group and annotate to a studio standard, and build a reusable library you carry into future projects.
The Structure
How the course runs.
Two parts, with one external certification between them. The course is largely self-directed - around four hours a week of video lessons and assignments - with a live session each week with the course leader to review work and resolve questions.
Foundations of Computational Thinking
All four pillars, built from first principles through video lessons and assignments. You build everything yourself.
↓ Submission - an annotated workflow and a recorded walkthroughMcNeel Grasshopper Level 1 Certification
A 125-question examination set and marked by McNeel, providing an external measure of software proficiency. Included, with two retakes. A pass is required to proceed to Part 2.
★ Certificate 01 - external and recognisedApplied Computational Design
An independent project applying all four pillars to a brief of your own. With your Part 1 work, this forms the Tekne Lab assessment of your reasoning, graded Pass, Merit or Distinction.
↓ Submission - design sketches, renders, and your own scriptThe Credentials
You finish with two certificates.
One certifies that you can operate Grasshopper. The other certifies how you think, and is your recognised qualification in Computational Thinking.
McNeel Grasshopper Level 1 Certification
Set and marked by McNeel - a 125-question examination confirming you can operate the software competently. Included, with two retakes.
Exam details →Certificate in Computational Thinking with Grasshopper
The Tekne Lab assessment of your reasoning, judged across your Part 1 workflow and your Part 2 project and graded Pass, Merit or Distinction.
Most courses assess only the first. This course is built around the second.
Who teaches the course
Hey - I'm Jak Drinnan
I'm a British Architect and Computational Designer based in Bangkok, with fifteen years of experience making Grasshopper central to how I think and design - from digital fabrication workflows, to art and architectural installations, to leading an MArch studio in Computational Design, and as an Associate Architect at Foster + Partners. I have worked with and taught Grasshopper at every design scale and across most design disciplines.
Tekne Lab is the culmination of that experience. It is a Computational Design consultancy that helps people in one of two ways: we either do the work for you, or we teach you to do it yourself and leave you autonomous. The Certificate in Computational Thinking is the second of those, formalised - the teaching arm, opened up to a wider professional audience.
That range is the point. Architects, interior designers, engineers, jewellers, medical, aerospace - once you understand data and systems, the same thinking applies to any design problem in Grasshopper, whatever its scale or discipline.
Enrolment
What is included, and the founding rate.
Enrolment in Cluster Zero includes:
or 2 × £250 over two months.
Both certificates included.
This is the founding cohort and places are limited. The founding rate applies to Cluster Zero only; later cohorts run at the standard rate of £750 for individuals once accreditation is confirmed.
Reserve your place →Common questions
Questions worth answering
Can I keep up while working full-time?+
Yes. The course is designed for people in work. It requires around four to six hours a week, the live sessions are recorded, and everything between them is self-paced.
Do I need to be proficient in Grasshopper already?+
No. The course begins with shapes and systems and builds from there. It suits both newcomers and self-taught designers; the aim is to give you the underlying reasoning, whatever your starting point.
What software do I need?+
Rhino and Grasshopper. A free 90 day Rhino 8 trial can be downloaded and installed prior to starting the course.
Are the live sessions recorded?+
Yes. Every live session is recorded and yours to keep, so a clash with work does not mean missing it.
How difficult is the McNeel examination, and what if I don't pass?+
It is an external proficiency check, included with two retakes. The course prepares you for it by week five, and the retakes mean a single off day costs you nothing.
Can my employer pay, and do you invoice?+
Yes. We can invoice your practice directly, which makes the course straightforward to fund as CPD. Please reach out to Jak if you would like an invoice arranged.
Can I purchase multiple seats for my university or company?+
Absolutely - reach out to Jak at jd@teknelab.io to arrange a bulk order and enrolment.
Join the founding cohort.
Cluster Zero begins on 10th August 2026. Places in the founding cohort are limited.