A quick stroll through Parametric Urbanism

Parametric/ Parameter:  In mathematics, parametric equations are a method of defining a curve. A simple kinematical example is when one uses a time parameter to determine the position, velocity, and other information about a body in motion. [i]

That was a little brief to get introduced to the terminology - widely used in the contemporary design strategies. If one was to define the resultant of such equations, it is to provide a definition to complex forms seen in nature that can measure the ‘change’ in form, function or of any nature by defining them as variable parameters.

 a defined curve based on parametric equations - butterfly curve. -source:wikipedia

 Is urban(ism)... parametric?  Of course it is. Every urban condition is in constant change like every matter or collected matter in the universe with certain parameters driving the change. One could define ‘urban’ as assemblies of matter that includes you, me and all other physical elements that form a city and since every matter is under change and we (as humans) can only see through limited scales in our lifetime, hence do not notice the two scales: the one that spans over the period of our lifetime or the other that happen quicker than we can absorb in our senses.  But the city is constantly under change; shops give way to new ones- change in fashion and choice, houses change to multi-storeyed apartments -change in value and need, change in social culture- network interface with our lives, and the list is endless...

If the list is endless the how can we select the parameters for designing a city as we have constraints?

A city exists in an interrelationship between various parameters; social interaction spaces, economical development, availability of land, number of people and sometimes from its relation to other cities (e.g. recent the hit on European cities due o collapse in American leverage system). The Design parameters although could be restricted to more physicality with a data driven approach as a constant feedback mechanism can alter the design time and again to produce a set of changes that in turn allows the city to be more responsive than the earlier formats of city design which were driven by the zoning laws and basic initial masterplans (city of Chandigarh).

Parametric Urbanism - AADRL[ii]

In the initial 19 hundreds when first cities were designed with Howards idea of city design (on a clean slate of land all over the world) was realised due to a very necessity in the change in social structure. The origin of automobile as a form of transport forced to enhance the road width which completely changed the profile of the cities from the medieval era which had narrow streets and 3 storied houses. Today it seems no different to see cities zoned out in various housing, commercial and industrial sectors which during the early emergence from medial towns looked as huge surprises. Similarly, parametric urbanism today gives a similar impression that it is advanced from the traditional planning of zoning which works with techniques on a data feedback system are by far more efficient than the planning of today’s cities as the data inputs can give a more intelligent and efficient behaviour of overall cities performance. However the question of realising these designs is not a question as much to design but rather a question of social necessity –

‘For the Garden cities the invention like the automobiles and industries brought about the major switch. What is going to drive the contemporary city design system to be replaced by parametric urban design schemes if they were to be realised on clean a slate  again? ‘

 

“...all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.

run rabbit run dig that hole, forget the sun

and when at last the work is done, don’t sit down

its time to dig another one...“

Breathe, Dark side of the moon- Pink Floyd

-Subharthi Guha

14^th Feb 2009 

 

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[i] source:  wikipedia

[ii] AADRL.net

Technology and the Mind

 

Technology is everywhere in use and is inconsequential of you adapting it or not, as the matter of fact, it is a part of the civilization in so many ways that its effect is seen in a every household computer today that is faster than the one that took Neil Armstrong to the moon.

From music , art and architecture, there have been drastic steps of reformation in the global saga of understanding and appreciation of these art forms. The differences are stunning.  The music industry went through interesting steps reforming the commercial zone by introducing electronic media which produced tracks much faster and used various experimental sounds. It revealed a new world of progressive house and others that have taken over the commercial industry of music completely (almost). 

But lately it is observed that due to the increase in network and piracy, the commercial structure has taken steps to introduce live performances of a few tracks in public after the launch of the albums to regain profit. One might argue here that the necessity of such a step and in a direction back to the live performances, maybe not so much like the rock era of the 80’s, but to a certain extent gives a touch of humaneness back to the field of music. Hence the band picks a few tracks....practises it for a live show(with real instruments) and performs it in public which somehow is different from the original but keeps the people interested to look upon them and produce something for the promoter. From the music of the traditional bands with musical objects we now have a parallel line of electronic ones producing tracks at a much faster and effective rate.  The participation of people in concert or the idea of seeing a live performance cannot be ruled out.  The use of real instruments thus is inevitable, however could have been actually done with if seen theoretically.

In contrast to music, architecture has a problem. Where music can deal with in in-between condition where it holds both the live stage performances with real instruments as well as electrical objects, architecture always needs to produce in reality, outside the box of the computer- for a constant scale – the human.   This new method in architecture has the capacity to produce forms that are unimaginable to the human creativity as the brain can only calculate or imagine certain number of dimensions at a time. The computer methods show results of forms and possibilities within a range which are incapable of the human understandings (like the large digit multiplication done by a calculator).

Now, when we look at designs that have such bottom up approaches which allows us to use control and produce the final product as per the changes and drifts introduced, the act of live performance in scale is still relevant in architecture just like the music shows that need to be made with real instruments for a complete electronic album. The architecture hence has or needs to look at two constantly new scales with probability of using the human vision in the larger picture scale, maybe is just a necessity that cannot be ruled out. Although the other techniques would help in creating objects of design but the idea of space however would might have to remain in control of the mind based design approaches which take into account the human scale, structure, methodology and other perception of senses in consideration.

Here we have a situation today with a constant conflict between which of the tracks to move on....technology .....or the  strokes of the mind based designs. Being on the edge is a critical condition in which the decision on that point of time could affect changes and history for a period of time, although one would argue that over a longer period (1000 yrs) of time the consequences of the performance is irrelevant of decisions.  However, design has been achieved in both terms but the concern of architecture is the scale that cannot and should not be altered. Computer aided design does have an immense potential in object design however which do not comply with cost effectiveness and sometimes as decorative pieces like the screensaver and sculptural. But the stroke of the brush of a painter .... indeed cannot be replaced.

 

-Subharthi Guha

2 January 2009