Parametric Computation: History and Future

Abstract

John Frazer is a pioneer and leader in the field of generative design and evolutionary computation. In the 1970s he developed the world's first microcomputer‐based design systems and invented tangible interfaces. Professor at the European Graduate School, he is the author of the seminal book An Evolutionary Architecture (1995). Here he traces the history of parametric architecture and discusses how, in its second state, redefined as Parametricism 2.0, Parametricism opens up the possibilities to become more than a matter of generational technique, scripting variational geometry, and a means to addressing wider social and environmental purpose.