Parametric Architecture & Design: A New Paradigm
The nature of architecture has always been a reflection on a wide and dynamic range of variables that relate to our perception of space, time, the physical, the metaphysical and other realities such as social economic ecologic among others, so in essence architecture has always been interdisciplinary and in turn that perception has highly depended on our ability to interpret or translate those concepts into physical form, what falls in between is the process and the materials that we use and create.
While looking briefly and comparatively at architecture in terms of only two aspects such as beauty and functionality as well as examining certain eras such as classical architecture and modernism in a classical sense we can observe two main points that distinguish them from each other- one is similarity, which is an essentially algorithmic process, versus duplication using molds and matrices. The other is pluralism versus the separation of architectural elements (such as form, surface, structure, articulation even ornament) into distinct elements that are assembled later on.
Parametric architecture and the digital paradigm attempt to synthesize two seemingly distinct worlds- the digital and the material- through a process that incorporates the interdisciplinary nature of architecture while increasing our ability to generate gradient patterns of growth and transformation, the implicit verses the explicit, and the ability of architectural elements to negotiate pluralistic qualities of behavior embedded into ontology.
Through Parametric architecture and the manipulation of the digital medium architects can scientifically and creatively delve into explorations in an attempt to address emergent challenges of an ecological social or economical nature while optimizing resources creatively, improving performance and manifesting beauty.