Geometry has always played a central role in architectural
discourse. In recent years, the importance of geometry has
been re-emphasised by significant advances in computer-aided
design (CAD) and the advent of digital fabrication and
performance analysis methods. New design approaches are
being developed that will profoundly change the current
nature and established hierarchies of architectural practice.
The arrival of parametric digital modelling changes digital
representations of architectural design from explicit
geometric notation to instrumental geometric relationships.
Architects are beginning to shift away from primarily
designing the specific shape of a building to setting up
geometric relationships and principles described through
parametric equations that can derive particular design
instances as a response to specific variables, expressions,
conditional statements and scripts.
Robert Aish, Lars Hesselgren, J Parrish and Hugh
Whitehead have been at the forefront of these developments
for many years. The formative period for their collaboration,
when the intent and methodology of parametric design
applied to architecture was established, was the time when all
of them were working for, or in collaboration with, YRM in the
mid-1980s. There they took Integraph’s Vehicle Design System
and applied it to pioneering buildings such as the Grimshaw
Waterloo International Rail Terminal and the ‘Stadium for the
Nineties’, a project that featured a retractable roof defined
through fully associative geometry. Since then, Robert Aish
has moved on to become Director of Research at Bentley
Systems, where he is responsible for the development of new
parametric design software. Lars Hesselgren is Director of
Research and Development at KPF London, where he has been
involved with many major building projects, most recently the
Bishopsgate Tower. Hugh Whitehead leads the Specialist
Modelling Group at Foster and Partners that has provided
consultancy on such prominent buildings as the Swiss Re
Tower, GLA City Hall, the Sage Gateshead and Beijing airport. J
Parrish, Director of ArupSport, has contributed to the
development of outstanding sports stadiums such as the
Sydney Olympic Stadium and the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Together they formed the SmartGeometry Group, and here
they outline their common views on the aim of the group.