Hamid Hassanzadeh
Jul 30, 2017 · 5 min read

An Introduction to the Parametric Approach

Hello everybody! My name is Hamid Hassanzadeh. I’m a 28 year-old Iranian architect, founder of the Instagram page @parametric.architecture. It’s been almost 17 months since I started researching about parametric design. During this time, I’ve tried to show what’s happening in today’s architecture and design world around parametricism by sharing creative designers work.

In this post I’ll show what a “parametric approach” is, how it helps architects find multiple forms for their designs and how ShapeDiver’s platform can be used as a great tool to explore parametric design. But first, let’s focus on parametric design, where it came from and why we use this word.

What is “Parametricisim”?

The word “Parametricism” was first used in 2008 by Patrick Schumacher, a partner at Zaha Hadid Architects. Parametricisim is based on parametric equations and uses algorithms, programs and computers to create and edit equations to reach very complex forms.

By using computer programming systems such as Grasshopper, Dynamo and Maya, among others, parametric design potentially enables different and innovate ways of generating multiple solutions to architectural design problems. This practice is also known as generative design. In this article we will try to define a basic parametric design system using Grasshopper and ShapeDiver.

Attractors

In dynamic systems, like Grasshopper definitions, there is a concept called “Attractors”. These are elements of the design which tend to pull other elements of that system towards a certain value. A great example of an attractor in physics is the gravitational fields of planets.

A planet is literally an attractor because it attracts objects to its surface by a gravitational pull. It also behaves like an attractor in the Grasshopper sense, because its attraction decreases with the distance.

In this example embedded below via the ShapeDiver’s platform (if you’re reading on a mobile device, I recommend you to rotate to landscape for better viewing experience), we’re using a single, invisible point as an attractor. The point uses distances as a field of influence over a grid of cylinders. Inside this influence field, the cylinders get smaller in height and as we move the point around we can see how its attractor properties affect the field of cylinders. Let’s walk through our example to see how the Grasshopper definition is set up.

Parametricism and Attractors

2 weeks ago by Hamid Hassanzadeh -

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An Introduction to the Parametric Approach

Hello everybody! My name is Hamid Hassanzadeh. I’m a 28 year-old Iranian architect, founder of the Instagram page @parametric.architecture. It’s been almost 17 months since I started researching about parametric design. During this time, I’ve tried to show what’s happening in today’s architecture and design world around parametricism by sharing creative designers work.

In this post I’ll show what a “parametric approach” is, how it helps architects find multiple forms for their designs and how ShapeDiver’s platform can be used as a great tool to explore parametric design. But first, let’s focus on parametric design, where it came from and why we use this word.

What is “Parametricisim”?

The word “Parametricism” was first used in 2008 by Patrick Schumacher, a partner at Zaha Hadid Architects. Parametricisim is based on parametric equations and uses algorithms, programs and computers to create and edit equations to reach very complex forms.

By using computer programming systems such as Grasshopper, Dynamo and Maya, among others, parametric design potentially enables different and innovate ways of generating multiple solutions to architectural design problems. This practice is also known as generative design. In this article we will try to define a basic parametric design system using Grasshopper and ShapeDiver.

Attractors

In dynamic systems, like Grasshopper definitions, there is a concept called “Attractors”. These are elements of the design which tend to pull other elements of that system towards a certain value. A great example of an attractor in physics is the gravitational fields of planets.

A planet is literally an attractor because it attracts objects to its surface by a gravitational pull. It also behaves like an attractor in the Grasshopper sense, because its attraction decreases with the distance.

In this example embedded below via the ShapeDiver’s platform (if you’re reading on a mobile device, I recommend you to rotate to landscape for better viewing experience), we’re using a single, invisible point as an attractor. The point uses distances as a field of influence over a grid of cylinders. Inside this influence field, the cylinders get smaller in height and as we move the point around we can see how its attractor properties affect the field of cylinders. Let’s walk through our example to see how the Grasshopper definition is set up.

https://www.shapediver.com/blog/parametricism-and-attractors

First of all, we created a rectangular grid of points as the base for our cylinders. The attractor is defined by two points: one for the center of the circle and the other one moving on the circle. Finally, we used a distance component to measure the distance between each cylinder base point from the attractor.

The outcome of the distance component is a set of number which we use to define our cylinders’ heights. The points which are very far from the attractor get the larger numbers and the closer points get smaller numbers. As a result, the cylinders get taller when the attractor is far, and smaller when it is close.

Now that the parametric system is done, it’s time to play with the attractor slider to witness its influence. As you see in the model, the attractor influences every cylinder as it gets closer or further away.

This is just a simple model that shows how Grasshopper can help us to use components in order to build systems and functions that work together and depend on a set of parameters. In the end, when those parameters change, they are propagated throughout the entire system.

Hope you liked this post and hopefully I managed to get you reading until the very end. I’ll be sharing more insights and analysis just like this in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

In the mean time, don’t forget to follow me on my Instagram page to get more great content related to parametric design and architecture.

Hamid Hassanzadeh

Written by

Architect | Designer | Investor Founder of Instagram page @parametric.architecture

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