Computational Schema as a Facilitator for Crowdsourcing in a “Social-Motive” Model of Design - Principia Designae: Pre-Design, Design, and Post-Design - page 217

14.3.1 Introducing Parametric Design

We have seen that early general models of design have focused on the iterative
nature of the design process. These recursive models have concentrated on the
iterative relationships among analysis, synthesis and evaluation (Asimov 1962 ;
Archer 1963 ; Lawson 2006 ) . CAD models have later introduced visualized geo-
metrical 3D computational models to help visualize form manipulation and mod-
ification after each iterative stage (Maver 1970 ). One of the difficulties of using
these models was the difficulty of the support of interactivity. A major problem was
the ability to interact and understand the underlying representational logic of 3D
models of design providing transparency to allow shared modifications.
Within the last decade with the emergence of new parametric design environ-
ments and tools, parametric design has become a medium in the evolution and
advancement of processes of digital design. Parametric design focuses on the
representation and control of associative relationships between objects. As a result,
designers communicate between two worlds, the abstract, based on mathematical
and parametric rule-based algorithmic space, mapping a “tangible-realistic
space which interacts with the needs of people, communities of different scales”
(Ottchen 2009 ; Yu et al. 2013 ) .
What is distinctive about parametric design is that beyond the focus upon the
object of design, parametric design has now moved designers to define and char-
acterize the formalization of parametric design as holistic processes explicating
their key concepts. Terms and concepts such as parametric schema, generative
processes, algorithmic scripting and coding are becoming an important body of
thought and interactive methods for shared representation.

14.3.2 The Concept of Parametric Schema

As compared to the explicit representation of the geometry of the form itself,
associative and parametric geometry present a logical structure behind algorithmic
procedures of design processes. The manipulation of visual design representations
is supported by algorithmic representation of its internal logic using representa-
tional languages of scripting and coding (Oxman 2009 ; Oxman and Oxman 2014 ;
Jabi 2013 ; Woodbury et al. 2007 ) .
The logic of a classical generic schema can be demonstrated through the
example of Architectural Buildings such as Greek Temple, Egyptian Temple,
Gothic Church etc. (see Fig. 14.5 ). Today, algorithmic representation of generic
design schema of contemporary practice cab be consistent, coherent, and can be
applied in contemporary design to produce modification and variations of design
(Figs. 14.6 and 14.7 ).