Skip to main content

Parametric Design: Theoretical Development and Algorithmic Foundation for Design Generation in Architecture

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of the Mathematics of the Arts and Sciences

Abstract

This chapter presents the theoretical foundation of parametric design for design generation in architecture. Parametric design has been increasingly applied to architectural design in recent years. It is essentially a digital design method, which can be characterized by rule-algorithmic design and multiple-solution generation. Parametric design originates from generative design, which is a typical computational design approach based on rules or algorithms (e.g., in generative grammars or evolutionary systems). This chapter starts with a critical review of generative design, followed by the background, history, and theory of parametric design, including various fundamental concepts and applications that underpin parametric design, and concludes with a discussion of the impact of parametric design on architecture.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abdelsalam M (2009) The use of the smart geometry through various design processes: using the programming platform (parametric features) and generative components. Proceedings of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2009), Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, pp 297–304

    Google Scholar 

  • Akın Ö (2001) Variants in design cognition. In: Eastman C, Newstetter W, McCracken M (eds) Design knowing and learning: cognition in design education. Elsevier Science, Oxford, pp 105–124

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Almusharaf AM, Elnimeiri M (2010) A performance-based design approach for early tall building form development. Proceedings of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2010), Fez, Morocco, pp 39–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Baerlecken D, Martin M, Judith R, Arne K (2010) Integrative parametric form-finding processes. Proceedings of the 15th international conference on computer aided architectural design research in Asia (CAADRIA), Hong Kong, pp 303–312

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrios C (2005) Transformations on parametric design models. Proceedings of the 11th international conference on computer aided architectural design futures (CAAD Future), Vienna, Austria, pp 393–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Batty M (1997a) Cellular automata and urban form: a primer. J Am Plan Assoc 63(2):266–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batty M (1997b) Urban systems as cellular automata. Environ Planning B Plan Des 24:159–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal M (2011) Analysis model for incremental precision along design stages. Proceedings of the 16th international conference on computer aided architectural design research in Asia(CAADRIA), Newcastle, Australia, pp 19–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Blum C, Li X (2008) Swarm intelligence in optimization. In: Blum C, Merkle D (eds) Swarm Intelligence. Springer, Berlin, pp 43–85

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Boden M, Edmonds E (2007) What is generative art. Digit Creat 20(1):21–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Burry M (2003) Between intuition and process: parametric design and rapid prototyping. In: Kolarevic B (ed) Architecture in the digital age – design and manufacturing. Spon Press, New York/London, pp 149–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Burry J, Holzer D (2009) Sharing design space: remote concurrent shared parametric modeling. Proceedings of 27th eCAADe conference, Istanbul, Turkey, pp 333–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Cárdenas CA (2007) Modeling strategies: parametric design for fabrication in architectural practice. Dissertation, Harvard University

    Google Scholar 

  • Chakrabarti A, Shea K, Stone R, Cagan J, Campbell M, Hernandez NV, Wood KL (2011) Computer-based design synthesis research: an overview. J Comput Inf Sci Eng 11:021003–021012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chien SF (1998) Supporting information navigation in generative design systems. Dissertation, Carnegie Melon University

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorst K (2011) The core of ‘design thinking’ and its application. Des Stud 32(6):521–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eastman CM (ed) (2008) BIM handbook: a guide to building information modeling for owners, managers, designers, engineers and contractors. Wiley, Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckert C, Kelly I, Stacey M (1999) Interactive generative systems for conceptual design: an empirical perspective. Artif Intell Eng Des Anal Manuf 13:303–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fasoulaki E (2007) Genetic algorithms in architecture: a necessity or a trend? Proceedings of 10th generative art international conference. Milan, Italy

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer T, Herr C (2001) Teaching generative design. Proceedings of 4th generative art international conferene. Milan, Italy

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer T, Burry M, Frazer J (2003) Triangulation of generative form for parametric design and rapid prototyping. Proceedings of 21th eCAADe conference, Graz, Austria, pp 441–448

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer T, Burry M, Frazer J (2005) Triangulation of generative form for parametric design and rapid prototyping. Autom Constr 14(2):233–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frazer J (2016) Parametric computation: history and future. Archit Des 86(2):18–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Gane V, Haymaker J (2009) Design scenarios: methodology for requirements driven parametric modeling of high-rises. Proceedings of the 9th international conference (CONVR 2009), Sydney, Australia, pp 79–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Garnier S, Gautrais J, Theraulaz G (2007) The biological principles of swarm intelligence. Swarm Intell 1:3–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gero JS (1996) Creativity, emergence and evolution in design. Knowl-Based Syst 9(7):435–448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gero JS, Kazakov V (1996) An exploration-based evolutionary model of generative design process. Comput Aided Civ Infrastruct Eng 11(3):211–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grasl T, Economou A (2013) From topologies to shapes: parametric shape grammars implemented by graphs. Environ Plan B: Plan Des 40:905–922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez CRB (2006) Thinking parametric design: introducing parametric Gaudi. Des Stud 27(3):309–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herr C, Kvan T (2007) Adapting cellular automata to support the architectural design process. Autom Constr 16(2007):61–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillyard RC, Braid IC (1978) Analysis of dimensions and tolerances in computer-aided mechanical design. Comput Aided Des 10(3):161–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hnizda M (2009) Systems-thinking: formalization of parametric process. Proceedings of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2009), Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, pp 215–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland J (1968) Hierarchical descriptions, universal spaces and adaptive systems: technical report. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland J (ed) (1975) Adaptation in natural and artificial systems. An introductory analysis with application to biology, control, and artificial intelligence. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Holland N (2011) Inform form perform. Proceedings of ACADIA regional 2011 conference, pp 131–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Holzer D, Hough R, Burry M (2007) Parametric design and structural optimisation for early design exploration. Int J Archit Comput 5(4):625–643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hornby GS, Pollack J (2001) The advantages of generative grammatical encodings for physical design, 2001 IE congress on evolutionary computation. IEEE, Seoul

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jo J, Gero JS (1998) Space layout planning using an evolutionary approach. Artif Intell Eng 12(3):149–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karle D, Kelly B (2011) Parametric thinking. In: Proceedings of ACADIA regional 2011 conference, pp 109–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight T (2003) Computing with emergence. Environ Plan B Plan Des 30:125–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolarevic B (ed) (2003) Architecture in the digital age: design and manufacturing. Spon Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Krish S (2011) A practical generative design method. Comput Aided Des 43:88–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leach N (ed) (2008) (Im)material processes – new digital techniques for architecture. China Architecture & Building Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee JH, Ostwald M, Gu N (2016) A justified plan graph (JPG) grammar approach to identifying spatial design patterns in an architectural style. Environ Plann B: Urban Analytics City Sci 45(1):67–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Light R, Gossard D (1982) Modification of geometric models through variational geometry. Comput Aided Des 14(4):209–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maher ML (1990) Process models for design synthesis. AI Mag 11:49–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Maher A, Burry M (2003) The parametric bridge: connecting digital design techniques in architecture and engineering. Proceedings of the 2003 annual conference of the association for computer aided design in architecture, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp 39–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Monedero J (2000) Parametric design: a review and some experiences. Autom Constr 9(4):369–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostwald M (2012) Systems and enablers: modeling the impact of contemporary computational methods and technologies on the design process. In: Gu N, Wang X (eds) Computational design methods and technologies: applications in CAD, CAM and CAE education. IGI Global, Pennsylvania, pp 1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Oxman R (1990) Design shells: a formalism for prototype refinement in knowledge-based design systems. Artif Intell Eng 5(1):2–8

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Oxman R (2006) Theory and design in the first digital age. Des Stud 27(3):229–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parish Y, Müller P (2001) Procedural modeling of cities. Proceedings of the 28th annual conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques. ACM, New York, pp 301–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Peña W, Parshall S (eds) (2001) Problem seeking: an architectural programming primer. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajus V S, Woodbury R, Erhan H, Riecke B E, Mueller V (2010) Collaboration in parametric design: analyzing user interaction during information sharing. Proceedings of the 30th annual conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), New York, pp 320–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberto C, Hernandez B (2004) Parametric Gaudi. Proceedings of the 8th Iberoamerican congress of digital graphics (SIGraDi 2004), Porte Alegre, Brasil, pp 213–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Salim F, Burry J (2010) Software openness: evaluating parameters of parametric modeling tools to support creativity and multidisciplinary design integration. Proceedings of computational science and its applications (ICCSA 2010), Berlin and Heidelberg, Germany, pp 483–497

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar P (2000) A brief history of cellular automata. ACM Comput Surv 32(1):80–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlueter A, Thesseling F (2008) Balancing design and performance in building retrofitting: a case study based on parametric modeling. Proceedings of the 28th annual conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) pp 214–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumacher P (2009) Parametricism – a new global style for architecture and urban design. AD Archit Des – Digi Cities 79(4):14–23

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Singh V, Gu N (2011) Towards an integrated generative design framework. Des Stud 33:185–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiny G, Gips J (1972) Shape grammars and the generative specification of painting and sculpture. Inf Process 71:1460–1465

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiny G, Mitchell WJ (1978) The Palladian grammar. Environ Plan B 5:5–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tching J, Reis J, Paio A (2016) A cognitive walkthrough towards an interface model for shape grammar implementations. Comput Sci Inf Technol 4:92–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Neumann J (1951) The general and logical theory of automata. In: Taub AH (ed) John von Neumann, collected works. Pergammon Press, New York, pp 280–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfram S (1986) Random sequence generation by cellular automata. Adv Appl Math 7:123–169

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Woodbury R (ed) (2010) Elements of parametric design. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodbury RF, Burrow AL (2006) Whither design space? Artificial intelligence for engineering design. Anal Manuf 20(2):63–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodbury R, Aish R, Kilian A (2007) Some patterns for parametric modeling. Proceedings of the 27th annual conference of the association for computer aided design in architecture Halifax, Nova Scotia, pp 222–229

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu R, Gero JS, Gu N (2013) Impact of using rule algorithms on designers’ behavior in a parametric design environment: preliminary results from a pilot study. Proceedings of the 15th International conference on computer aided architectural design futures (CAAD FUTURES 2013), Shanghai, China, pp 13–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu R, Gu N, Ostwald M, Gero J (2015a) Empirical support for problem-solution co-evolution in a parametric design environment. Artif Intell Eng Des Anal Manuf (AIEDAM) 29(01):33–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu R, Ostwald M, Gu N (2015b) Parametrically generating new instances of traditional chinese private gardens that replicate selected socio-spatial and aesthetic properties. Nexus Netw J 17(3):807–829

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ning Gu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Gu, N., Yu, R., Behbahani, P.A. (2018). Parametric Design: Theoretical Development and Algorithmic Foundation for Design Generation in Architecture. In: Sriraman, B. (eds) Handbook of the Mathematics of the Arts and Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70658-0_8-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70658-0_8-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70658-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70658-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MathematicsReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

Publish with us

Policies and ethics