A parametric analysis of the “digitally-derived geometric design” of the façade of the Macau St. Dominic’s Church

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Macau St. Dominic’s Church was built in 1588 and renovated in 1828. This ancient building in Macau’s historical town is listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. “Digitally-derived Geometric Design” is an important implicit logic of the correlation between numbers and shapes in Western Classic Architecture, and the method of parametric analysis is highly effective in the interpretation of “Digitally-derived Geometric Design”. However, there are limited digital studies on Western Classic Buildings in the Far East and even less conducted from a parametric and detailed perspective. With the façade of the Macau St. Dominic’s Church as the research subject, this study applied the methods of historical document research, field measurement and digital analysis, especially parametric analysis with the assistance of the modeling software of Rhinoceros 6.0 and the software plug-in of Grasshopper, and analyzed the design features of the façade: its upward “successive decrease by equal difference” in stratification, modularization and golden ratio. The “digitally-derived” design pattern of the Macau St. Dominic’s Church is of significant historical value.