Unlike the visually distinct language of the late 1990s, digital architecture that became synonymous with the term ‘parametricism’, today’s digital tools and computational design methods are working their magic in less visually and stylistically obvious ways.
Parametric design is typically understood as the use of advanced computation, namely algorithms, to generate associative geometries and often complex forms. Used in conjunction with digital fabrication machines, parametric techniques have been instrumental in realising the design and construction of otherwise impossible to build architectural projects.
With increased computing power and greater software options available to architectural practices, modelling and constructing complex forms has become technically and economically feasible. But parametric techniques are one part of a larger suite of computational tools that can powerfully direct design problem solving. So, while an
