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Parametric

This note is about the concept of 'parametric', especially in design.

Cf.

  • procedural modelling/design
  • generative modelling/design
  • computational design (as distinct from CAD, digital design, etc.)
  • generative modelling/design/art
  • rule-based or algorithmic modelling/design
  • evidence-based and data-driven designing
  • visual or node-based programming
  • automation
  • mass-customisation
  • material computation
  • form-finding
  • system art
  • bottom-up designing, emergent system, architecture without architects

Parametric Design

For an incomplete sketch of the intellectual history of "parametric" design, see the list below.

  • phyllotaxis is an example of geometric/numerical constraint (such as the Fbonacci sequence, logarithmic spirals, etc.) where patterns that are possible mathematically restrict/enable the development of leaves and other parts of plants, they same applies to statistical/probability constraints
  • bird nests, ventilation systems in termite nests, ant hills, hexagonal cells built by bees, spider webs are all examples of rule-based, material/body/space constrained processes that find form/procedure/nice-based solutions
  • Cave towns (Cappadocia, systematic excavation, adaptability, efficient use of materials), component-based structures (bricks, timber elements for logs huts and many other forms, reed for roofing, Chinese/Japanese joinery, Egyptian pyramids, etc.) and other traditional forms of collective dwelling can also be seen as forms of constraint-informed design exploration.
  • Vitruvius, Greek architectural orders, standardised elements, proportional systems, rule-based design
  • Roman mass production, pottery, clay tiles, bricks mosaics, sculptures, buildings
  • Venetian Arsenal, standard parts, assembly lines, specialised labour, supply chains, continuous improvement
  • Antonio Gaudi, hanging chains for catenary arches, novel/complex/locally fitted forms
  • Exquisite corpse (Surrealists), drip paintings (Pollock), instructions works (Fluxus) as examples of exploration into emergent patterns, same in many forms of traditional and regional art before
  • Luigi Moretti, generative form-finding
  • Ivan Sutherland, constraints in drafting software
  • Frei Otto, material computation and form-finding
  • Maurice Ruiter, industrial design with parameters
  • David Rutten, visual programming for architects

Bredella, Nathalie. The Architectural Imagination at the Digital Turn. Abingdon: Routledge, 2022.

Caetano, Inês, Luís Santos, and António Leitao. “Computational Design in Architecture: Defining Parametric, Generative, and Algorithmic Design.” Frontiers of Architectural Research 9, no. 2 (2020): 287–300. https://doi.org/10/ghcgsf.

Gu, Ning, Rongrong Yu, and Peiman Amini Behbahani. “Parametric Design: Theoretical Development and Algorithmic Foundation for Design Generation in Architecture.” In Handbook of the Mathematics of the Arts and Sciences, edited by Bharath Sriraman, 1361–83. Cham: Springer, 2021.

Harding, John E., and Paul Shepherd. “Meta-Parametric Design.” Design Studies 52 (2017): 73–95. https://doi.org/10/gb4p33.

Jabi, Wassim. Parametric Design for Architecture. London: Laurence King, 2013.

Lee, Ju Hyun, and Michael J. Ostwald. “Creative Decision-Making Processes in Parametric Design.” Buildings 10, no. 12 (2020): 242. https://doi.org/10/gmm8vk.

Oxman, Rivka E. “Editorial: Parametric Design Thinking.” Design Studies 52 (2017): 1–3. https://doi.org/10/gfsp4g.

Oxman, Rivka E. “Thinking Difference: Theories and Models of Parametric Design Thinking.” Design Studies 52 (2017): 4–39. https://doi.org/10/gb4sdw.

Oxman, Rivka E., ed. “Parametric Design Thinking.” Special issue. Design Studies 52 (2017). Vasconselos, Tássia Borges de, and David Sperling. “From Representational to Parametric and Algorithmic Interactions: A Panorama of Digital Architectural Design Teaching in Latin America.” International Journal of Architectural Computing 15, no. 3 (2017): 215–29. https://doi.org/10/gfsp4f.

Woodbury, Robert. Elements of Parametric Design. London: Routledge, 2010.

Wortmann, Thomas, and Bige Tunçer. “Differentiating Parametric Design: Digital Workflows in Contemporary Architecture and Construction.” Design Studies 52 (September 2017): 173–97. https://doi.org/10/gb4qck.

Abilities of Parametric Design to Express Place

Parametric/constraint-based design can take multiple local properties into account, for example through multi-criteria optimisation that will compromise to express local conditions in structure, etc.

  • solar radiation as predictable patterns, statistical probabilities, shading simulations
  • wind water patterns as statistical models and fluid dynamics
  • various forms of traffic
  • seismic activity
  • weather
  • ground conditions

Locality/community/system/place-dependent outcomes can include:

  • unique local configurations
  • material economy (lightweight structures, reuse of nonstandard, discarded local materials and objects)
  • energy economy (passive ventilation)
  • biodegradability
  • bioreceptive structures
  • designing in response to nonhuman umwelten
  • structures fitting unique and unusual sites

Languages as Parametric Systems

Cf. parametric theory of generative linguistics in application to the syntax of natural languages.

  • universal grammar
  • parameters such as head-initial languages (e.g., English) or head-final (Japanese) and word order
  • null subject parameter in Spanish and Italian
  • parameter setting when children learn specific parameters based on linguistic input, enabling efficient acquisition and use

As a result, natural languages might appear different but share underlying structures.

This is even more pronounced in artificial/programming languages.

Digital/Computational Turn

Burry, Mark. Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming. Chichester: Wiley, 2011.

Carpo, Mario. The Second Digital Turn: Design Beyond Intelligence. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2017.

Kolarevic, Branko. Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2003.

Oxman, Rivka E., and Robert Oxman. Theories of the Digital in Architecture. New York: Routledge, 2014.

Roudavski, Stanislav. “Towards Morphogenesis in Architecture.” International Journal of Architectural Computing 7, no. 3 (2009): 346–74. https://doi.org/10/bb5dfz.

Walliss, Jillian, and Heike Rahmann. Landscape Architecture and Digital Technologies: Re-Conceptualising Design and Making. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016.

Parametricsm

Abdullah, Hardi K. “Exploring the Meaning in Parametricism: A Semiotic Approach.” Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2024, 1–13. https://doi.org/10/gt7xrh.

Benedikt, Michael, Kory Bieg, and Graham Harman, eds. “Response to Schumacher.” In The Secret Life of Buildings. Center 21. Austin: University of Texas at Austin, 2018.

Gyulai, Levente, and Vilmos Katona. “A Methodological Overview of Parametricism: Lessons from a Case Study.” Symmetry: Culture and Science 31, no. 3 (2020): 365–81. https://doi.org/10/gt7xrf.

Moss, Eric Owen, and Patrik Schumacher. “Parametricism And Pied Piperism: Responding to Patrik Schumacher.” Log, no. 21 (2011): 81–87.

Patrick Schumacher. Parametricism 2.0: Rethinking Architecture’s Agenda for the 21st Century. Architectural Design: Profile No. 240. London: John Wiley & Sons, 2016.

Poole, Matthew, and Manuel Shvartzberg, eds. The Politics of Parametricism: Digital Technologies in Architecture. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.

Schumacher, Patrik. The Autopoiesis of Architecture: A New Framework for Architecture. Hoboken: Wiley, 2011.

Schumacher, Patrik. “Design Parameters to Parametric Design.” In The Routledge Companion for Architecture Design and Practice: Established and Emerging Trends, edited by Mitra Kanaani and David Alan Kopec, 3–20. Routledge. New York: Routledge, 2016.

Schumacher, Patrik. “The Parametricist Epoch: Let the Style Wars Begin.” The Architects’ Journal 231, no. 16 (May 6, 2010): 41–45.