Parametric architecture helps guide design with algorithms and software to generate complex structures, based on a set of defined parameters, such as building orientation, climate or energy efficiency. These are the new foundations for a more sustainable building.
Gérard Bertomeu, … Academic co-director of the master’s degree in Parametric Design in Architecture (MPDA) provided by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, he combines his teaching role with his professional career at CODA Arquitectura. Shares his work in the studio with Enrique Soriano and Pep Tornabell. The three also run the varsity program. “The adjective that best fits the world of parametric architecture is computing,” says Bertomeu. This is a design made with computers. “It’s not a style like Gothic or postmodernism, but a set of computational design tools,” he says. This technique allows architects to create more efficient and personalized designs that would be difficult to achieve with traditional methods, since changes in parameters automatically generate changes in the design.
Parametric architecture also faces criticism, such as the high cost of implementation, excessive reliance on specialized software or the difficulty of building certain structures. About this technology, Bertomeu also remembers the saying that “power without control is useless”. “We have very powerful tools that can lead to a loss of control over decision-making,” he emphasizes.
But is parametric architecture something new? Bertomeu maintains that the Greeks were already doing parametric architecture “when they were interested in the relationship between the column and the frieze, or between the volute and the diameter of a column”. “We are faced with the process of finding form,” he says. And one of the first references would be Antoni Gaudí. Later, other architects came to Spain, such as Eduardo Torroja and Félix Candela. And in Latin America, Eladio Dieste. “Everyone was looking for the connection between form and structural behavior,” he adds. The first to coin the term parametric architecture was the Italian Luigi Moretti, in 1960, during the XII Triennale in Milan. Internationally, Frei Otto, Heinz Isler, Frank Ghery and Zaha Hadid, among others, are cited as promoters of this movement.
The objective of the master’s degree, according to its co-director, is that “already qualified architects or engineers can change their professional future thanks to the knowledge of this set of tools and have a new approach in the design of the architectural project and the provision of services to other professionals in the sector”.
Bertomeu complains about the poor technological training of architects: “Parametric architecture is intrinsically linked to computer programming. It must be admitted that we have poor knowledge of programming languages. So, in this approach to computational design, we need to restructure the mentality regarding the architectural project and start thinking more like programmers.
Regarding the use of artificial intelligence, he explains that “the AI algorithms that seem most useful to us are those that have to do with ‘clustering’, with classification, to have alternatives based on results or attributes”. “And the algorithms that allow us to interpolate possibilities without necessarily going through a computer calculation are also very useful to us,” he emphasizes. Among the studio’s creations with parametric architecture, the structures of Xmadrid (commercial space in Alcorcón), Urbanitree (for the South Summit pavilion) or the stretched canvas that takes advantage of existing floors (Blau project) stand out.
Model the city
José Salinas and Roque Peña, founders of EXarchitects, focus their work on parametric design, digital manufacturing, 3D printing and creative actions using the latest technologies. Peña says the studio has more missions outside of Spain. Can parametric architecture change the design of urban centers? According to Salinas, “from specific actions (because development in Spain is nascent) that are generated, the city is shaped.” “For example, the BBV candle or the Oasis shopping center are monuments in Madrid,” he comments.
The fusion between innovation and aesthetics can be seen in one of his first projects, the design of beach bars on Adra beach in Almería. “The tools allowed us to optimize sunshine and shade. We created the visual part from a sinusoidal shapesomething that was previously unachievable,” says Salinas. Regarding efficiency, Peña shows that “parametric design allows us to evaluate the performance of these buildings; carbon impact or life cycle analysis is now implemented.
The first major project, in 2013, the configuration of the roof and facade of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, was carried out in collaboration with the GMP/L35/Ribas team. “Today, almost every avant-garde studio,” Salinas explains, “has a parametric design specialist. At that time, this did not exist and we were a kind of autonomous mercenaries. During the first competition, the stadium was uncovered, but Real Madrid decided to cover it. “We modeled the building envelope almost from scratch,” he explains. Then came other jobs, like Real Madrid’s high-profile training camp, working alongside engineers; or participation in the CaixaForum in Valencia, hosted by Enric Ruiz-Geli. This project is composed of double curvature geometries that are difficult to achieve economically. The latest order is for Jaeger-LeCoultre, a Swiss luxury watch manufacturing company. The facade of the Beijing flagship store was elevated through construction designs and tile combinations.
CaixaForum project in Valencia, by EXarchitects
Parametric architecture also goes hand in hand with industrialized construction, Peña says: “Summing up, we could say that in the 21st century, with computational design, we can do practically anything. Linked to digital manufacturing and industrialization, we are also starting to be able to build any geometry or variation on the same design, thanks to the same algorithm at competitive costs.
Casanueva Arquitectos is a studio based in Oviedo that carries out projects in which parameters such as light and climate are added. Architect Mae Casanueva Ovies considers parametric architecture to be “a revolutionnot because it produces very striking forms, but because of the way in which it transforms the process; “Before, we worked with one or two alternatives, whereas now we can generate multiple iterations on an idea.”
The process allows us to analyze the effect of light, the way air circulates, the behavior of solar radiation or the reaction of the structure. “It is also a constructive revolution, because Before, there were geometries that we couldn’t constructively accesswhereas we can now order them mathematically and convert them into manufacturing systems,” describes the architect.
Resource optimization is another of the advantages of parameterization, Casanueva believes: “We can simulate the behavior of the building before starting its execution and with that make much wiser decisionswhich will ultimately reduce errors in the long term. And then, in addition, at the structural level, we can compare the alternatives, adjust the thicknesses, the geometries and find the lightest and most efficient solution. “Climate is one of the elements that concerns us the most,” he says, “when we use parametric architecture, because we can treat light and orientation as design variables, or almost as materials, which allows us to create buildings that perform much better and consume less, leading us to sustainable bioclimatic architecture.”
The capacity for customization is configured as another virtue of the model, Casanueva emphasizes: “The project is built from real data and a clear idea. “Each building has a different light, its own rhythm and a particular way of relating to the environment, and parametric design allows us to respond to these conditions precisely.”
The evolution, the future, is moving towards more integrated processes, “where technology expands our ability to understand and make decisions”. “Digital tools, including trending AI, will allow us to analyze more scenarios, predict behaviors and compare solutions at a speed that was previously impossible. But the management of the project will remain human. The future will have more adaptable architecture, more aware of the environment and the needs of residents,” he says.