Parametricism: A New Global Style for Architecture and Urban Design

Abstract Though parametricism has its roots in the digital animation techniques of the mid‐1990s, it has only fully emerged in recent years with the development of advanced parametric design systems. Patrik Schumacher explains why parametricism has become the dominant, single style for avant‐garde practice today and why it is particularly suited to large‐scale urbanism as exemplified by a series of competition‐winning masterplans by Zaha Hadid Architects. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.