Comparisons of practice progress of digital design and fabrication in free-form architecture

Abstract

Early studies in the field of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) focused on the effects of digital media on the thought processes of designers; however, research has recently shifted to issues of parametric design and building information modeling (BIM). The objective of this study was to compare the parametric design process with BIM to conventional CAD/CAM without BIM in the development of free-form designs. The result proposes some observational phenomena of comparing the two very common methods of the digital design and fabrication in today’s digital era, as a reference for the design practice.