Parametric Design

Parametric Design is the process of designing in environments where design variations are effortless, thus replacing singularity with multiplicity in the design process. Parametric design is done with the aid of Parametric Models. A parametric model is a computer representation of a design constructed with geometrical entities that have attributes (properties) that are fixed and others that can vary. The variable attributes are also called parameters and the fixed attributes are said to be constrained. The designer changes the parameters in the parametric model to search for different alternative solutions to the problem at hand.

The parametric model responds to the changes by adapting or reconfiguring to the new values of the parameters without erasing or redrawing. In parametric design, designers use declared parameters to define a form. This requires rigorous thinking in order to build a sophisticated geometrical structure embedded in a complex model that is flexible enough for doing variations. Therefore, the designer must anticipate which kind of variations he wants to explore in order to determine the kind of transformations the parametric model should do. This is a very difficult task due to the unpredictable nature of the design process.