parametricism

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/pæɹəˈmɛtɹɪsɪzm̩/

noun

An avant-garde, computer-aided style of architecture and urban planning in which (the functions of) spaces are considered parametrically variable (dynamic) rather than static.

Scrabble 21

Meanings

nounparametricism (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAn avant-garde, computer-aided style of architecture and urban planning in which (the functions of) spaces are considered parametrically variable (dynamic) rather than static.
    2 more examples

    The question of Parametricism's “hegemony” has been a subject of lively debate among architects, who disagree over whether its design language—which is based on the scripting of variable stems though digital algorithms—may be considered a style whose signature aspects would be an undulating topographical field composed of modular geometric elements, or whether the digital modelling capacities that Parametricism relies on should remain tools for designing a more materially based and responsive form of architecture.

    2013, David Joselit, After Art, →ISBN, page 24

    According to the functional heuristics of parametricism, the functions of spaces are conceived in terms of dynamic patterns of social interactions/communications, i.e. as parametrically variable, dynamic event scenarios, rather than static schedules of accommodation that list functional stereotypes. See Patrik Schumacher, The Autopoiesis of Architecture […]

    2014, Paradigms in Computing: Making, Machines, and Models, →ISBN, page 185

Origin

From parametric + -ism, coined in 2008 by Patrik Schumacher.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

parametricism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parametricism

MLA

“parametricism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parametricism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parametricism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parametricism.

Source: parametricism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.