NYCxDESIGN Panel: Parametric Modeling: Discipline vs. Practice

The practice of architecture has always stimulated inventive building methods and techniques. The consistency of this innovation can be influenced by many things: imaginative design proposals, complex client needs, material science, and economics, to name only a few. It is inevitable, then, that the efficiency and management capabilities provided by parametric software will become a key factor in the production of architecture. This is already happening in various large and complex projects around the world. Although the practice of architecture is very much linked to the discipline, they are oftentimes driven by different forces. The practice of architecture is commonly steered by pragmatic concerns and remains one of the main reasons for the development of smarter tools in the making of buildings. As a building moves toward construction, the design becomes more explicit while details are developed and finalized. The design process, on the other hand, is more iterative and fuzzy. The discipline of architecture is driven by creativity and a process of discovery, and parametric modeling operates in very much the same capacity. Rather than designing something unequivocally, you are designing a system to produce multiple outcomes. If the pragmatic forces around increasingly complex projects will drive the use of parametric tools in the practice of architecture, what are the forces that would make parametric modeling more commonplace in the discipline of architecture? Moderator: Michael Szivos (Owner, SOFTlab & Visiting Professor, Pratt Institute) Panelists Mark Bearak (Architect, FXFOWLE & Adjunct Professor, GSAPP), Matthew Clark (Associate Structural Engineer, ARUP), Gustav Fagerstrom (Senior Technical Designer, Buro Happold), Michael Rees (Artist & Associate Professor, William Paterson University) RSVP by Friday, May 17th to Emily Alli at [email protected]. http://nycxdesign.com/events/parametric-modeling-discipline-vs-practice/ http://www.fxfowle.com/activity/cat/news/222/parametric-modeling-discipline-vs-practice-panel-hosted-by-fxfowle/