Your mini-guide to parametric design
Posted on: 6 November, 2024
Parametric design can help architects rapidly produce designs that meet complex and varied requirements.
Architects are no strangers to working within a set of rules and restrictions. While architecture is typically viewed as one of the most creative professions in the built environment, a designer has always had to operate in line with physical limitations.
It’s easy to assume these restrictions stifle the creativity of architects, but in truth, it’s given rise to some of the most striking and innovative designs the world has ever seen. What’s more, thanks to new pressures on the sector like the need to reduce embodied carbon emissions and the challenge of finding sustainable alternatives to materials like concrete, future generations of architects can expect to face more restrictions and limitations than ever before.
However, with parametric design, producing designs that meet these varied requirements is easier (and faster) than ever before.
What is parametric design?
Parametric design is an algorithm-based technique that develops complex and customised components, products and structures. In the process, architects identify a set of parameters which influence the building’s design. Although its prominence has increased with digitisation, its origins can be traced to the late 19th century and the Church of Colònia Güell, an unfinished project designed by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, Spain.
With nature being a constant source of inspiration for architects and design teams, the parametric methodology, often referred to as parametricism, reemerged with the roof design of the Olympiastadion – the main venue of the 1972 Summer Olympics. The term ‘parametric design’ itself was coined by researcher Maurice Ruiter in 1988.
Learn more: Is your business ready for architecture’s digital transformation?
How does parametric design work?
Architects can produce parametric models by inputting parameters into an algorithm – for instance, the conditions of a construction site, the selection of materials or the requirements of the user. Parametric software is then able to generate solutions that meet these requirements simultaneously, and the parameters can then be customised to impact the final design with ease.
Parametric design vs generative design
Parametric and generative design are two modern architectural techniques that have similarities and are often used in tandem. However, while parametric design creates opportunities for customisation and can be used to solve various challenges, generative design focuses on developing a solution for a specific issue.
Learn more: The architect’s guide to generative design
What are the benefits of parametric design?
There are a wide range of advantages to making use of parametric tools during the design process, including:
1. Greater efficiency
Using parametric techniques is an efficient way of producing and modifying designs quickly. Once the parameters of a project have been inputted into the tool, they can be tweaked quickly, and other iterations can also be produced instantly.
2. Improved accuracy
Parametric design software helps minimise human error, which can have a significant impact on the costs, project time or even the safety of a final construction project.
3. Produce more complex solutions
To meet the needs of their end users while aligning with laws, regulations and green building standards, modern building designs are often complex. Parametric software thrives on these variables, and can generate solutions to complex problems that traditional design methods could not have achieved.
4. Optimised cost control
Along with parameters like materials and location, parametric architecture also takes into account the budget available for a project, meaning that the cost of construction can be identified and controlled early, rather than being able to spiral throughout the building lifecycle.
5. Informed decision making
Parametric technology’s ability to balance and integrate multiple variables makes it a crucial tool – not just for the design phase but for the entire building lifecycle. Professionals across the sector in areas like urban planning are using it to observe the real-time impact of parameters and transfer these findings into complex solutions for entire cities.
Learn more: Why is the traffic in my city so bad?
8 real-world examples of parametric design
Parametric design is already in use and has produced some of the most striking, complex designs in architecture. Here are some noteworthy examples:
1. Beeah Headquarters, Sharjah, UAE
Home to the environmental management company of the same name, the Beeah Headquarters is a net zero building designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, and one of the most famous examples of their parametric approach to architecture. It also makes use of other innovative tools, including smart building systems and digital twin technology.
Learn more: Smart buildings, explained – here’s what they mean for the built environment
2. Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China
One of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, the Shanghai Tower was designed by architecture firm Gensler to withstand extreme weather conditions and improve energy efficiency. Along with the use of generative design to dictate its shape, parametric techniques were used to construct elements of its interior.
3. The Oculus, New York, USA
Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the Oculus is a transportation hub at the World Trade Center that gives commuters in New York access to trains and subways. Reportedly costing $4 billion, parametric modelling was at the centre of the building’s construction and striking appearance.
4. The National Museum of Qatar, Doha, Qatar
Qatar’s National Museum in the city of Doha was constructed through the use of parametric software, alongside building information modelling (BIM), to reflect the desert rose formations that can be found in its surroundings. Comprised of 539 horizontal and vertical discs that intersect to form its structure, this extremely complex building was the biggest BIM project in the world at the time of construction.
Learn more: What is BIM (and how does it work)?
5. Museum of the Future, Dubai, UAE
Back in the United Arab Emirates, another museum, opened in 2022, stands as a striking showcase for the potential of parametric architecture – the Museum of the Future. Dedicated to innovative and futuristic ideologies like space exploration and the future of manufacturing, this museum was designed by Killa Design and consists of seven storeys, each housing exhibits, halls, lecture theatres and laboratory spaces.
6. Museo Soumaya, Mexico City, Mexico
The Museo Soumaya is yet another striking museum that made use of parametricism during its conception. The 150-foot tall structure, located in Mexico City, has a façade of 16,000 hexagonal mirrored-steel elements and was designed by global architectural firm FR-EE.
7. Louvre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Taking inspiration from the museum of the same name in Paris, France, Abu Dhabi’s take on the Louvre is billed as a ‘museum city in the sea’. Opened in 2017, the museum’s dome is comprised of 7,850 star-shaped metal panels, with parametric design intricately involved in producing these complex patterns.
8. Burnham Pavilions, Chicago, USA
Another product of Zaha Hadid Architects, the Burnham Pavilions were a collection of temporary public sculptures constructed in Millenium Park, Chicago in 2009. Commissioned as part of centenary celebrations of the Burnham Plan, an urban planning initiative launched in the city in 1909, the pavilions were designed with parametric techniques and intended ‘to reflect Chicago’s long tradition for embracing cutting edge architecture in an intricate but fluid structure’.
Parametric design isn’t without its criticisms
Despite the potential of parametric design, this technique and methodology isn’t without its criticisms in architectural circles. One of the most prominent concerns around the use of this technology is the impact it will have on creativity. Examples like Beeah Headquarters and the Museum of the Future show the ability of parametric tools to produce creative solutions, but the reliance of this technique on algorithms restricts the level of customisation available to the architect and creates the risk of repetition.
Another issue identified by critics of parametric design is the skill required to use it effectively. While the design can be handled by the software itself, learning how to use it and realise its potential takes practice, as it’s significantly more complicated than traditional alternatives. As architecture and other industries in the built environment continue to struggle with skills gaps, this will hold back its acceptance and implementation in the sector.
Learn more: Is your business ready for architecture’s digital transformation?
Parametric software is also expensive – hence why many of the examples featured are more akin to extravagant showcases than lived-in structures. While it can save manufacturers and construction teams money by integrating cost control into the design phase, getting the software (and finding the expertise to use it) in the first place requires significant investment.
Final thoughts
Parametricism has undoubtedly caused a stir and sparked conversations about the future of the architecture industry, but its potential to revolutionise the field cannot be denied. With the benefits it offers crucial for an architectural profession (and the sector as a whole) facing new and evolving challenges, the advantages of implementing this technology arguably outweigh its potential shortcomings.
Architectural technologists are the digital experts that bridge the gap between an aesthetic vision and a practical reality. If you want to be at the forefront of the built environment’s digital future, UCEM’s BSc (Hons) Architectural Design Technology will give you the technical expertise and literacy you need to become a valuable contributor to the sector.
Find out more: BSc (Hons) Architectural Design Technology – University College of Estate Management
