The Legacy of Parametric Design
Computers compute; and they do so in a specific way that guides output down a certain path. While the increasing power and versatility of computer drafting tools is diversifying this path, programs still sway design and representation by their limitations. The advent of AutoCAD and its imitators in the mid 1980’s affected how architectural projects were designed . The first paperless architecture studio at Columbia GSAPP in 1995 operated with a program delineated series of inputs and outputs. The work created in this studio was a reflection of the programming limitations and possibilities created by AutoCAD. Eventually this design process filtered down to other studios conducted by traditional means. The early digital processes were mimicked with standard paper and methods of production.
This program based design is interesting when compared to the recent large scale adoption of parametric software to conceive and carry out projects. While AutoCAD continued to operate on a standard system of coordinates in static space. Parametrically based software like 3DSMax and Grasshopper introduce animation and dynamic inputs as a tool for design. The influence of these types of programs is clearly displayed in recent architectural projects at both GSAPP and within the discipline of architecture at large.
Parametric software changes standard production processes and allows for advanced calculations to be realized in a much smoother, quicker process. To an extent, parameters are set and a form is created independent of the designer. The designer creates the process and the process creates the structure. This work process often produces projects that can be identified as “parametric” through their use of shifting forms and complex geometries. Much like their earlier paperless studio influenced studios conducted without the design software; the new parametrically produced processes are now influencing projects that are produced in standard drafting programs.
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