Definition
Parametric architecture uses tools like Grasshopper to express designs as algorithms. Changing a parameter — say, ceiling height — propagates updates everywhere in the model.
Why it matters
Parametric workflows make late-stage design changes cheap. They are also the foundation on which generative design and most computational façades are built.
Key points
- •Tools: Grasshopper (Rhino), Dynamo (Revit), Houdini.
- •Outputs are scripts, not static models.
- •Enables mass-customisation: every façade panel slightly different, all fabricable.
Examples
- ›Heydar Aliyev Center's flowing roof — generated parametrically.
- ›A residential staircase whose tread depth adapts to a curving plan.