Title: Coherence of interior and exterior formal qualities in parametrically designed buildings

Authors: Morteza Hazbei; Carmela Cucuzzella

Addresses: INDI Program, Concordia University, Sir George Williams Campus Faubourg Tower 1250 Guy Street, FB630.19 (6th floor) Montreal, QC, Canada ' Design and Computation Arts Department, Concordia University Research Chair in Integrated Design, Ecology, and Sustainability for the Built Environment (IDEAS-BE.ca), S-EV 6755 Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex, 1515 St. Catherine W. Montreal, QC, Canada

Abstract: Parametrically designed buildings often have spectacular exterior forms, quasi-sculptural, that catch the eye of the passers by. However, the indoor space design of parametric architecture has received less attention due to over emphasis on exterior aesthetic requirements. This may lead to superficial aesthetics where the quality of the indoor space is not compatible with the outer building envelope. This paper seeks to highlight the importance of coherency between these two parts of parametrically designed buildings. To do this, we conducted a two-step survey with architecture students where we first presented a set of different views of indoor and outdoor spaces of some parametric buildings. They were asked to match the images of the interior spaces to images of the exterior facades. In the second step, students were asked to evaluate each building by their formal criteria (specifically the coherence of the façade and indoor space) for parametrically designed projects in order to identify if a gap existed between the two aesthetics.

Keywords: parametric design; coherency; exterior façade; interior spatial quality; aesthetic.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDE.2021.113249

International Journal of Design Engineering, 2021 Vol.10 No.1, pp.10 - 28

Received: 23 Dec 2019
Accepted: 05 Jul 2020

Published online: 25 Feb 2021 *

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