Parametric Design, Computational Design, and the Million Dollar Question
Canon Young AIA, NCARB Architect
Computational design is turning parametrics into purposeful solutions
Canon Young first joined LS3P as a student intern from Louisiana Tech pursuing his MArch degree. Since joining the firm full-time and becoming a licensed architect, Canon has put his parametric design skills (and his experience running a small business utilizing 3D printing and laser CNC systems) into practice. We sat down with him to discuss the “what,” the “how,” and most importantly, the “why” of these tools in his design process.
We’ve been throwing around the terms “computational design” and “parametric design” a lot lately here. Do those terms mean the same thing?
I can understand how computational design and parametric design end up in the same bucket. There’s definitely some overlap between the two, but they’re really not the same thing. Computational design, at its core, is leveraging a base set of programs to solve problems across multiple projects. It’s great for “rinse and repeat” processes that we do over and over again, like assigning alternating colors to façade panels. You can spend time selecting each panel individually, or you can spend time writing a script to assign every façade panel at once, and then run it for every future project with alternating façade panels. Computational design is great for automating general processes based on data inputs. Parametric design, on the other hand, is about establishing your parameters and then creating adaptability within those parameters to facilitate design. Once you’ve set up your parameters, you can use them to generate design iterations very quickly by fine-tuning the options.
Have you been able to explore parametric design recently in any of your projects?
I recently worked on a parametric design for a hospitality project in Charleston that had some strict Board of Architectural Review requirements. The building had a massive four-story brick wall and we were trying to break down the scale and add some visual interest. We landed on a brickwork façade that would complement the nature-inspired aesthetic of the client. Once we set up the parameters–the façade size, the brick size, how far you can extend a brick out of plane before you have to add support–we set up a Grasshopper script and used oak trees for inspiration as we pushed and pulled the bricks within the façade. Parametric design is ideal for that kind of situation. Do you want to spend a couple of hours setting up your parameters to do a lot of iterations in a row, or a whole day modeling every brick and then trying to adjust each brick, one at a time, for each iteration?
It sounds like that’s an easy choice to make, once you understand that parametric design is an option.
It is. I did so much of this when I was in school, in large part because I wanted to have the freedom to adjust things in real-time during a charette or a desk critique with my professors. When you’ve got your parameters in place, you can toggle things and adjust your design in real time as part of your design communication.
Parametric design isn’t necessarily the right tool for every project. If you’re working with very traditional forms or a small-scale design, maybe you don’t want to invest the time in setting up a parametric model. Something big, like an arena or a large workplace project, or even a smaller-scale project where the client is looking to push the envelope on design, would be a great fit.
Computational design, however, can benefit projects at all scales. Once you’ve written a script that makes any repetitive task easier, you can run that on future projects too. You reap the benefits every time you use the script again, no matter the project scale.
When is the right time to start talking to a project team about parametric design opportunities?
Ideally, we’d start talking about parametric design possibilities at the go/no go stage. We’d be talking about whether a project might be a good fit before we chase it. Beyond that, it’s a really interesting conversation; should we be doing parametric models during schematic design, or design development? I think there’s a perception that we don’t want to make things feel too formal, too fast, and that we want to keep thinks sketchy as long as possible. I’d love to show people that parametric design can be sketchy too–it’s just another tool to use to work through ideas.
People are busy, and it can be daunting to think about learning a new tool or a new process. What’s the best way to get people curious about parametric and computational design, in your opinion?
I think our biggest opportunity is to get people asking one question (and asking it often): is there an easier way to do this? Chances are, the answer is yes. The easier way might involve a small
up-front effort, but if you can create a script to automate something repetitive on one project, you could use it on a thousand projects. Or if you can set up a parametric model that allows you to solve a complicated design problem in two hours instead of two days or two weeks, that’s time well spent. If you’re curious about whether computational or parametric design tools are a good fit for the problem you’d like to solve, you don’t necessarily have to be the one to run the programs; you just have to be aware of the options and know how to reach someone who’s got a little experience with this.
Also, we’ve got some incredible tools in the firm right now that we’re probably underutilizing. Dynamo is a fantastic example, and it operates in the background of a lot of what we’re already doing. I think Dynamo’s got a lot more potential than we’re currently leveraging, but I’m telling you – the first time you figure out how to use Dynamo to help you with a big task you don’t enjoy doing, you’re going to start telling everyone around you how valuable it is. Grasshopper is another example; a lot of our emerging professionals are using Grasshopper and Rhino in school and they come to us with knowledge we can harness. I’d love to see what we could do if we put a little more energy behind these tools.
Anything else you’d like to tell folks about getting started in this realm?
Well, I think a lot of it is what we talk about with design excellence in general and how we get there. You want to look for the right project with the right people at the right time. Maybe every project can benefit from computational design tools that help automate mundane or repetitive tasks like setting up a cartoon SD set or adjusting room tags. Streamlining those small but important things can help us to focus on bigpicture things like elevating the design. And then, some projects are going to offer the right scale, right client, and right opportunities to think a little more outside the box; that’s the sweet spot to apply our parametric design capabilities and see where they take us.
Meet Canon
Canon Young is an Architect in LS3P’s Charleston office. A graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor of Architectural Studies and Master of Architecture, Canon is passionate about integrating technology into design. While in his graduate program at Louisiana Tech, Canon taught undergraduate students how to use technology to prototype and construct physical models. Canon previously operated a small business utilizing 3D printing and Laser CNC systems which now serves as a design hobby outside of his professional practice.