Coherence of interior and exterior formal qualities in parametrically designed buildings

Abstract

Parametrically designed buildings often have spectacular exterior forms, quasi-sculptural, that catch the eye of the passers by. However, the indoor space design of parametric architecture has received less attention due to over emphasis on exterior aesthetic requirements. This may lead to superficial aesthetics where the quality of the indoor space is not compatible with the outer building envelope. This paper seeks to highlight the importance of coherency between these two parts of parametrically designed buildings. To do this, we conducted a two-step survey with architecture students where we first presented a set of different views of indoor and outdoor spaces of some parametric buildings. They were asked to match the images of the interior spaces to images of the exterior facades. In the second step, students were asked to evaluate each building by their formal criteria (specifically the coherence of the facade and indoor space) for parametrically designed projects in order to identify if a gap existed between the two aesthetics.