Digital Architecture
Digital Architecture
Definition
Stub page. Digital architecture refers to architectural design and production enabled by computational tools (CAD, 3D modeling, algorithmic design). The term encompasses both the use of digital tools to realize pre-existing aesthetic visions (as in Hadid's case) and the claim that digital tools generate new aesthetic paradigms (as in parametricism). Key software includes Maya (originally for animation), Digital Project (adapted from aircraft industry by Gehry's office c. 2000), and various parametric modeling platforms.
Key Thinkers
- Zaha Hadid — insisted computer was "only a tool that helped her realize a pre-existing vision; it did not create her aesthetic."
- Patrik Schumacher — theorist of parametricism as the "style of the digital/virtual age."
- Frank Gehry — office adapted Digital Project software from aircraft industry.
Related Concepts
Source Support
- The Abstractionist (Seabrook 2009) — describes Hadid's office adoption of Model Shop (early 1990s), then Maya (late 1990s); Digital Project enabling direct transmission to fabricators.
Open Questions
- Does digital architecture constitute a new paradigm, or merely a new set of tools for old ambitions?
- What is the relationship between digital architecture and parametricism?