Expanding of the Limits of Forms in Architecture through the Use of Parametric Methods and Algorithms

Abstract

The debate of new aesthetical approaches to form in architecture is permanent and one of the key topics of theoretical and applicative studies. The content in architecture is strongly interrelated to language and form, as the basic expressive and communicative tools.This paper demonstrates the role of the technological improvement and of the implementation of new applied mathematical concepts, in determining the components of language and obviously those of form generation.This understanding is reached through a historical analysis of the evolution of the modeling techniques and their impact on the limits of form and its conception methodology.The main object of the analysis is to evaluate the influence of parametric modeling in the form conception and generation process. The experiment consists in comparing a variety of three-dimensional models, generated by means of classical methods and different advanced Computer Aided Design applications which utilize primitive geometry or parametrical modeling and algorithms.The outcome confirms on one hand the absolute quantitative advantage of the alternatives generated through Computer Aided methods and on the other hand the fact that parametric modeling and algorithms can generate aesthetically pleasant and unusual three-dimensional results. These tools are already capable of reshaping architect's aesthetical convictions and they are certainly promoters of a new methodological approach to design that most probably will affect radically the future visual quality of the built environment.