Parametric Architecture

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Parametric architecture is a design approach that utilizes algorithmic processes to define and manipulate architectural forms and structures. It emphasizes the use of parameters and computational tools to create dynamic, adaptable designs that respond to various constraints and conditions, fostering innovation in spatial organization and material use.

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Key research themes

1. How do parametric methods integrate design exploration and digital fabrication in architecture?

This theme investigates the synergy between parametric design models and their physical realization through digital fabrication techniques, focusing on resolving challenges at the intersection of algorithmic design and construction. It explores the methodologies and case studies where parametric models guide fabrication workflows, the constraints posed by material and construction methods, and the role of UAV-based assembly in complex geometric architectural components.

Investigating the Challenges Between Designs to the Reality of Digitally Fabricated Structures

by Shraddha Parange

2025

Key finding: This study identifies critical factors—cost, material availability, and construction time—that create a gap between parametric design ideals and real-world digital fabrication in the Indian architectural context. Through... Read more

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A generative design case study for UAV-based assembly and fabrication: parametric analysis and synthesis of Iranian-Islamic Muqarnas

by ERFAN ZAMANI

2023, Open House International

Key finding: By parametrically analyzing the geometric modularity and generative algorithms of the Iranian-Islamic Muqarnas, this paper develops a generative system tailored for design-for-manufacture-assembly (DfMA) executed via UAVs. It... Read more

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Parametric Iranian-Islamic muqarnas as drivers for design for fabrication and assembly via UAVs: parametric analysis and synthesis of Iranian-Islamic muqarnas

by ERFAN ZAMANI

2023

Key finding: Expanding on the parametric classification of Muqarnas, this study uses Grasshopper-based generative systems to model 3D patterns suitable for modular fabrication and UAV assembly. It details how balancing parameters such as... Read more

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Strategies for Parametric Design in Architecture

by Ajinkya Niphadkar

2024, International Journal of Advanced Research in Science, Communication and Technology

Key finding: This thesis establishes the seminal role of parametric designers in mediating geometric information within architectural teams and formulates parametric design as automated modification of models driven by parameter changes.... Read more

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2. What cognitive and topological concepts enhance parametric architectural design thinking beyond geometry?

Focused on expanding the theoretical foundations of parametric design, this theme explores the cognitive processes underpinning parametric thinking and integrates topological constructs, particularly non-manifold topology (NMT), to overcome geometric brittleness and improve spatial reasoning. It highlights how topological awareness in parametric models enhances adaptability and robustness within complex architectural design contexts.

Enhancing parametric design through non-manifold topology

by Wassim Jabi and

2017

Key finding: By introducing non-manifold topology into parametric design thinking, this paper provides a rigorous theoretical basis that addresses weaknesses in traditional parametric models focused solely on geometry. It demonstrates... Read more

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3. How can reuse of design knowledge improve the learning and application of parametric modelling in architecture?

This theme examines approaches to mitigate barriers that architects face when adopting parametric modelling, such as programming complexity and cognitive challenges. It compares abstract design pattern reuse versus case-based reuse of parametric models as methodologies to accelerate knowledge transfer, improve comprehension, and facilitate practical design generation within architectural education and practice.

Abstraction versus Case Based: A Comparative Study of Two Approaches to Support Parametric Design

by Anastasia Globa

2015

Key finding: This experimental study reveals that both abstract parametric design patterns and case-based reuse from a design solution database significantly reduce learning barriers and improve architects’ proficiency in parametric... Read more

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All papers in Parametric Architecture

Generating Fractals Based on Spatial Organizations Generating Fractals Based on Spatial Organizations

by arash negahdari

This paper investigates an approach to the use of fractals in architectural design. Two major aspects are discussed. First, the effect of the direction of the line segments on the generated fractal, as well as, the proportions between the... more

In this research, we are interested in the vector-based fractals and the use of the replacement concept and the iterated function system as a way to generate them. These fractals have directional and geometrical properties that make them possibility suitable for applications in architecture. Vector-based fractals can be described in terms of vertices and the lines connecting them. This has the potential to be used directly as architectural elements or to simply use the vertices to define the locations of such elements.

Figure 3. The Koch Snowflake and the Antisnowflake By replacing every line of the initiator with the full generator, we get the first iteration o! the snowflake. By iterating this operation again and again, replacing every line of the new initiator with the full generator, we end with a figure that approximates a snowflake. The iteration process should continue to infinity to generate a real Koch Snowflake fractal but as we are interested in the evolving form, we only iterate the function for some finite number of times. Figure 3 displays the Koch Snowflake with 3 iterations. If the generator is changed, inverted, we can develop an entirely different form, the Koct Antisnowflake as in Figure 3.

Figure 4. Tree fractal, Cesaro fractal, Barnsley's Fern, Dragon Curve, H-fractal Sierpinski curve, square and triangle. There is a group of fractals that have been formally identified, including Mandelbrot set variations as described in his book “The Fractal Geometry of Nature” (Mandelbrot 1983) that depend on the concept of replacement. Some of the IFS fractals are: Cantor Set, Barnsley's Fern, Koch Antisnowflake, Koch Snowflake, Box Fractal, Cantor Square Fractal, Cesaro Fractal, Dragon Curve, Gosper Island Fractal, H-Fractal, Sierpinski Curve, Minkowski Sausage. Some of these are displayed in Figure 4.

We selected some of these diagrams and defined them as the initiator for the generation of fractals based on the Koch Snowflake. The goal was to investigate if the fractal generated from them might then be related to a rational organizational pattern.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES JENCKS Reflections on Complexity in Architecture

by Jon Arteta

2017

Interview with Charles Jencks as a working document for the development of the doctoral thesis entitled "The Paradigm of Complexity in Architectural and Urban Design" (2017)

Formal analogies between architectural designs and scientific theories/concepts. “The Architecture of the Jumping Universe”, Charles Jencks, 1995

Post-Modern evolutionary tree. The Story of Post-Modernism (Jencks, 2011)

Landscape designs by Charles Jencks. Left: “Cells of Life”, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2003-2010. Right. “The Garden of Cosmic Speculation’, Dumfries, Scotland, 1989 . Fuente:www.charlesjencks.com

look at the many exemplary parts of cities that renew themselves, and fragmentation of great architectures. Brasilia and Chandigarh have tried the totalistic command and control model and it doesn’t work very well. At a smaller scale it works better. If you want a “holistic or totalistic solution” then go into politics, and you will see the problem with the desire. On the other hand, there are a lot of institutions that use good architects and their utopian desires in a positive way, and our Maggie Cancer Caring Centres are one example. Or public housing put through by benign administrations. But the efforts are always time and culture dependent, and partial and not totalistic. “Notopia: the Singapore paradox and the style of Generic Individualism” (Jencks, 2016)

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Parametric Architecture

Key research themes

1. How do parametric methods integrate design exploration and digital fabrication in architecture?

2. What cognitive and topological concepts enhance parametric architectural design thinking beyond geometry?

3. How can reuse of design knowledge improve the learning and application of parametric modelling in architecture?

Related Topics

All papers in Parametric Architecture