scholarly journals Designed Parameters: Advancing Parametric Software in the Architectural Design Process

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Thomas Le Comte
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Digital Fabrication ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Architectural Space ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Parametric System

<p>Architects use computers predominantly to digitise a design process that has been in use prior to the advent of the computer. Traditional analogue concepts are transferred into and sculpted through the digital world but the overall process has remained mostly unchanged for decades. Merely digitising a known process does not utilise the full power of the computer and its near limitless ability to compute.  For an architect, design of the built environment is highly important especially if they are to optimise the physical, phenomenological and psychological aspects of the space. The process of designing an architectural space is riddled with possibilities or variables that architects have used historically to aid in the design of the built environment, including but not limited to: object relationships, climate, site conditions, history, habitibility and the clients input - all project requirements that must somehow be quantified into a built object. This information is key for an architect as it will inform and form the architecture which is to be designed for the project at hand.  This information, however useful, is not easy to integrate into every aspect of the design without intensive planning, problem solving and an exploration of almost an infinite number of possibilities. This is where parametric design can be used to aid in the design. More of the fundamental aspects of the information gathered in a project can be programmed into a computer as parameters or relationships. Once this information has been quantified, the designer can run through iterations of a design which are defined by these parameters. This is not a random process. It is controlled by the designer and the outcome is a product of how the architect designs the parameters, or relationships between components of the design.  Parametric design offers a shift from merely digitising design ideas to using programmed constraints derived through the design process to influence and augment the design envisioned by the architect. Parametric design allows the system to be changed holistically and updated through the alteration of individual components that will then impact the form of the design as a whole – creating a non-linear process that is connected throughout all design phases.  This thesis seeks to explore parametric design through its implementation within a group design project to decipher how a parametric process grounded in an understanding of contemporary digital fabrication can inform architectural space. To explore parametric design, this thesis will practice this re-envisioned design process through three design phases. The first phase is the foundational knowledge stage where the applications of digital workflow, computer models, tools and material explorations are examined. Second is the production of a prototype to investigate lessons learnt from phase one and apply these lessons to an actual parametric system used to design a prototype. The final stage will be a developed design process that will further explore a parametric system and its architectural applications. These phases will be developed through a series of prototypes in the form of material explorations and scale artefacts which will explore how it would be used to address many of the designs facets from sensual to corporeal.</p>

scholarly journals Designed Parameters: Advancing Parametric Software in the Architectural Design Process

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Thomas Le Comte
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Digital Fabrication ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Architectural Space ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Parametric System

<p>Architects use computers predominantly to digitise a design process that has been in use prior to the advent of the computer. Traditional analogue concepts are transferred into and sculpted through the digital world but the overall process has remained mostly unchanged for decades. Merely digitising a known process does not utilise the full power of the computer and its near limitless ability to compute.  For an architect, design of the built environment is highly important especially if they are to optimise the physical, phenomenological and psychological aspects of the space. The process of designing an architectural space is riddled with possibilities or variables that architects have used historically to aid in the design of the built environment, including but not limited to: object relationships, climate, site conditions, history, habitibility and the clients input - all project requirements that must somehow be quantified into a built object. This information is key for an architect as it will inform and form the architecture which is to be designed for the project at hand.  This information, however useful, is not easy to integrate into every aspect of the design without intensive planning, problem solving and an exploration of almost an infinite number of possibilities. This is where parametric design can be used to aid in the design. More of the fundamental aspects of the information gathered in a project can be programmed into a computer as parameters or relationships. Once this information has been quantified, the designer can run through iterations of a design which are defined by these parameters. This is not a random process. It is controlled by the designer and the outcome is a product of how the architect designs the parameters, or relationships between components of the design.  Parametric design offers a shift from merely digitising design ideas to using programmed constraints derived through the design process to influence and augment the design envisioned by the architect. Parametric design allows the system to be changed holistically and updated through the alteration of individual components that will then impact the form of the design as a whole – creating a non-linear process that is connected throughout all design phases.  This thesis seeks to explore parametric design through its implementation within a group design project to decipher how a parametric process grounded in an understanding of contemporary digital fabrication can inform architectural space. To explore parametric design, this thesis will practice this re-envisioned design process through three design phases. The first phase is the foundational knowledge stage where the applications of digital workflow, computer models, tools and material explorations are examined. Second is the production of a prototype to investigate lessons learnt from phase one and apply these lessons to an actual parametric system used to design a prototype. The final stage will be a developed design process that will further explore a parametric system and its architectural applications. These phases will be developed through a series of prototypes in the form of material explorations and scale artefacts which will explore how it would be used to address many of the designs facets from sensual to corporeal.</p>

Systems and Enablers

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Ostwald
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Parallel Evolution ◽  
Computational Design ◽  
Digital Fabrication ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Design And Technology ◽  
Building Information

This chapter presents a conceptual model of the architectural design process, spanning from ideation to realization, but not focused on stages in the process. Instead, the model identifies four primary meta-systems in design (representational, proportional, indexical, and operational) that are connected through, and supported by, a range of enabling tools and technologies. The purpose of developing this model is to support a heightened understanding of the parallel evolution of the design process and of enabling technologies. Thereafter, the chapter introduces seven recent trends in computational design and technology, each of which serves to enable the design process. The seven developments are: Building Information Modeling (BIM), parametric design, generative design, collaborative design, digital fabrication, augmented reality, and intelligent environments. The chapter offers a critical review of proposed definitions of each of these technologies along with a discussion of their role as a catalyst for change in the design process.

scholarly journals Digital matter as interdisciplinary commodity

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Uwe Rieger
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Digital Fabrication ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Design Environment ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Starting Point

<p>With the current exponential growth in the sector of Spatial Data Technology and Mixed Reality display devises we experience an increasing overlap of the physical and digital world. Next to making data spatially visible the attempt is to connect digital information with physical properties. Over the past years a number of research institutions have been laying the ground for these developments. In contemporary architecture architectural design the dominant application of data technology is connected to graphical presentation, form finding and digital fabrication.<br />The <em>arc/sec Lab for Digital Spatial Operations </em>at the University of Auckland takes a further step. The Lab explores concepts for a new condition of buildings and urban patterns in which digital information is connected with spatial appearance and linked to material properties. The approach focuses on the step beyond digital re-presentation and digital fabrication, where data is re-connected to the multi-sensory human perceptions and physical skills. The work at the Lab is conducted in a cross disciplinary design environment and based on experiential investigations. The arc/sec Lab utilizes large-scale interactive installations as the driving vehicle for the exploration and communication of new dimensions in architectural space. The experiments are aiming to make data “touchable” and to demonstrate real time responsive environments. In parallel they are the starting point for both the development of practice oriented applications and speculation on how our cities and buildings might change in the future.<br />The article gives an overview of the current experiments being undertaken at the arc/sec Lab. It discusses how digital technologies allow for innovation between the disciplines by introducing real time adaptive behaviours to our build environment and it speculates on the type of spaces we can construct when <em>digital matter </em>is used as a new dynamic building material.</p>

scholarly journals A Design Methodology Using Prototyping Based on the Digital-Physical Models in the Architectural Design Process

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Do Young Kim
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Smart Materials ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Digital Models ◽  
Education Environment

In this study, a design methodology based on prototyping is proposed. This design methodology is intended to enhance the functionality of the test, differentiating it from the prototyping that is being conducted in conventional architectural design projects. The objective of this study is to explore reference cases that enable designers to maximize the utilization of both digital models and physical models that have been currently used in architectural designs. Also, it is to explore the complementary roles and effects of digital models and physical models. Smart Building Envelopes (SBEs) are one of challenging topics in architectural design and requires innovative design process included tests and risk management. A conceptual prototyping-based model considering the topic is applied to the design studio (education environment in university). Designing SBEs is not difficult to conceive ideas, but it is impossible to “implement” using the conventional design method. Implementing SBEs requires to strengthen validities and improve responsibilities of ideas in the stages of architectural designs, with cutting-edge technologies and smart materials. The design methodology enables designers (represented by students) to apply materials and manufacturing methods using digital models (parametric design, simulation, BIM) and physical models, rather than representing vanity images that are considered simple science fiction.

scholarly journals Data driven parametric design

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Ferdinand Facklam ◽  
Felipe Pecegueiro do Amaral Curado
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Digital Fabrication ◽  
Geometric Shape ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Systematic Procedure ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Sensory Process

The focus of this paper is that we want to give a brief introduction about the idea of Parametric Design (PD) and the use of data to inform the design process. The digital fabrication is not covered in detail in this document. In the case study “Live Building” explains a sensory process. The project shows how to collect data, transformed and transported into a shape. Innovation is not only the approach of the draft, but the systematic procedure and the resulting diversity of solutions. The search for the geometric shape and the key to the concept will be answered in detail.

scholarly journals Projeto paramétrico com fractais no detalhamento de uma fachada

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maycon Sedrez ◽  
Rafael de Moraes Meneghel
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Fractal Geometry ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Digital Fabrication ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Complex Shapes ◽  
Simple Rules ◽  
Contemporary Architecture ◽  
Generative System

Parametric design and digital fabrication are becoming an ubiquitous tool to contemporary architecture and implies a different method of detailing. With this new perception of the contemporary detail we have developed a façade sun shade using fractal geometry as a generative system. Fractals are complex shapes generated with simple rules, so is relatively easy to change the final geometry when we work with parameters. The design process made possible the creation of many solutions using parametric definitions. Those solutions were physically modeled using rapid prototyping which we consider as an essential tool to the design process. This method also involved analysis and testing of the design using software and the physical models. With this project it was possible to conclude that when working with digital fabrication architects need to incorporate a new set of skills, and that collaboration between professional is extremely important.

Interaction and Intersection Between Digital Modelling and Design in Architecture

2018 ◽  
pp. 152-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vanossi
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Parametric Modeling ◽  
Design Tools ◽  
Modeling Tools ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Digital Modelling ◽  
Traditional Construction ◽  
Traditional Construction Techniques

Parametric modeling, usually considered modeling tools, has been analyzed in this chapter in a different way: as design tools for architect. First the use of parametric design has been considered from different approaches. Starting from the approach of Kas Oosterhuis Architect, in the Saltwater pavilion (1997), or Peter Cook Architect in the Kunsthaus (2003), in which the parametric tools have been used as shapes generation tools. Until the approach of the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, in the Sunny Hills building (2013), where the parametric tools have been used to rethink traditional construction techniques in a parametric way, known as chidori. After the analysis of the different parametric approaches, a new perception on the architectural design will be provided. In particular, the analytic way and the creative way, are usually separated in the architectural design, and it will enhance their interaction, in some cases, they become the same thing. This approach makes explicit and evaluable parts of the design process, reducing the gap between concept and goal in the design.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: Highway Noise Barriers and the Built Environment

1997 ◽  
Vol 1601 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenick Billera ◽  
Richard D. Parsons ◽  
Sharon A. Hetrick
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Noise Barriers ◽  
Noise Abatement ◽  
Noise Barrier ◽  
Visual Impact ◽  
The Aesthetic

Noise barriers have become a prominent feature on today’s landscape. Unfortunately, they have also become a feature associated with insensitivity toward the built environment. Designers could avoid the negative visual impact that noise barriers frequently create by increasing their awareness of aesthetics in the design process. In an effort to improve the quality of noise barrier design, the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s, Bureau of Environmental Analysis (BEA) altered the design process for its I-76/I-295 Type II noise abatement study. The first objective of the study was to acoustically engineer a barrier that would abate the noise for residents along the affected roadway corridor. The second was to develop an architectural design that would be aesthetically pleasing to the corridor resident and the roadway users. Typically, architects were brought into the design process at the end to review the aesthetic impact of the wall and add architectural features. On the I-76/I-295 project, BEA initiated a parallel process with the architectural design running concurrent with the engineering. The architectural design process and the interfacing of this process with the engineering are described. Community involvement was essential to the architectural objective of designing an aesthetically pleasing barrier. Ideas reflecting community concerns and comments were refined into final recommendations for construction of a noise barrier with gateways and a unifying corridor theme. The noise barrier should then become a representation of the community and stand as an icon in the built environment. Noise barriers can have a positive impact on the built environment if a commitment is made to aesthetics throughout the design process.

scholarly journals Following John Hejduk's Fabrications: on imagination and reality in the architectural design process

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Anderson ◽  
Colin Priest
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Thing Theory ◽  
Architectural Space ◽  
Design Build ◽  
Subject And Object ◽  
Managing Complexity ◽  
Responding To Change

This paper investigates the interaction between reality and imagination in the architectural design process. It engages with four inter-related inquiries. First, the interplay between reality and imagination in the architectural design process in student design-build live projects. Second, the interplay of reality and imagination for different agents in the architectural design process. Third, how the work of John Hejduk (1929-2000) enables a reappraisal of conceptions of reality and imagination in architectural design. Fourth, we address a live project for The Story Museum in Oxford, UK – a physical architectural space concerned with imaginary spaces – that suggests how an understanding of reality and imagination might be deepened in the architectural design process.The text reappraises the interplay of reality and imagination in architectural design as a cognitive process. There are two aims: to reassess empirical responses and received wisdom about what is real and what is imagined in architectural design; and to reassess the perception of differences between imagination and reality occurring across education and practice. ‘Thing Theory’ is proposed as a conceptual framework which allows us to improve our understanding of how architectural designs emerge, are transformed in the designer's mind, how architects communicate them to others and how they are understood and shared by others. Reference is also made to interviews with prominent architects. The term ‘thing’ was repeatedly used by these architects to describe moments in the design process when a break from reality had occurred. In these moments, subject and object seemed at their most intertwined. This moment is strong because it is so flexible in responding to change and managing complexity. It is also weak because it is a time when the designer tends to neglect vital everyday constraints such as occupation and ethics. However, this is a key moment because it allows possible future realities to emerge.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document