How cybernetic is parametrization?

Abstract

Parametrization is being introduced for years in education and in architectural designs around the world. To be used in its full potential, it demands a revision from the actual focus in design of the form giving, still a central part of architectural design practice and education. According to Hugh Dubberly, the shift should be to concentrate on the process’ planning as a whole, establishing relations between object and environment, and actor who occupies both (Dubberly, 2008, p.9). Parametrization isn’t new. Originally, it was born with the Sketchpad development, in 1963 by Ivan Sutherland, which was "a mechanism based on propagation and, at the same time, a simultaneous solver." (Woodbury, 2010). Parametric Design derives from the Graph Theory and, within that, from the propagation-based system, which assumes that the user organizes the graph, so that it can be directly solved. According to Robert Woodbury, this is the simplest type of parametric system, organizing objects so that the known information is based on unknown information. Knowing the theories behind the parametric design, the principles, advantages and fields of knowledge needed to master how to do it, which means, design with code, focusing on information management and its visibility in areas such as Building Information Modeling [BIM] and File to Factory, becomes a professional survival strategy in a competitive and international market based on expertise (Woodbury, 2010).