{"id":8109,"date":"2026-05-13T10:15:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=8109"},"modified":"2026-05-15T15:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:14:10","slug":"parametricism-changed-how-we-think-as-architects-says-melike-altinisik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/parametricism-changed-how-we-think-as-architects-says-melike-altinisik\/","title":{"rendered":"Parametricism “changed how we think” as architects says Melike Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Melike<\/div>\n

The theories of parametricism<\/a> have positively influenced the direction of architecture, but the ambition to make it the universal style is misguided, says Turkish architect Melike Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k<\/a> in this interview<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I believe computational tools may become universal, but architecture should not,” Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k<\/a> told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“In an increasingly globalised world, architecture risks becoming visually homogenised.”<\/p>\n

Parametricism is a style of architecture that results from the use of parametric design tools, formalised in 2008 in a manifesto by Zaha Hadid Architects<\/a> principal Patrik Schumacher<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his manifesto, Schumacher proclaimed the movement should be international, becoming “the great new style after modernism”.<\/p>\n

\"\u00c7aml\u0131ca
Melike Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k (top) is the architect of \u00c7aml\u0131ca TV and Radio Tower (above). Photos by NAARO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k believes this ambition is unwise. For her, parametric design tools should be used to create contextually intelligent architecture rather than to achieve a particular aesthetic.<\/p>\n

“Architecture must remain culturally and geographically specific,” she said. “Climate, material traditions, social patterns and urban histories vary enormously. If computational methods are applied intelligently, they should produce greater diversity, not uniformity.”<\/p>\n

“The strength of algorithmic thinking lies in its capacity to respond to context. If it were to generate a single global visual language, that would represent a misunderstanding of its potential,” continued Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k.<\/p>\n

“The future of architecture is not about universal form, but about universally intelligent processes that produce locally meaningful outcomes.”<\/p>\n

Parametricism “influenced an entire generation”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Characterised by bold, fluid forms, parametricism is synonymous with the work of the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, for whom Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k was once a protege before founding her own studio, Melike Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k Architects (MAA) in 2013.<\/p>\n

While Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k disagrees that parametricism should be the universal style, as insisted by Schumacher, she believes it has positively changed the course of architecture.<\/p>\n

“The early discourse around parametricism helped shift architecture from object-making to system-thinking,” said Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k.<\/p>\n

“It introduced rule-based design, adaptability, and the idea that geometry could emerge from performance criteria rather than stylistic intention,” she continued.<\/p>\n

“In that sense, it influenced an entire generation. It encouraged architects to think algorithmically and to define relationships rather than draw static forms. Today, however, we are in a different phase.”<\/p>\n

\"Seoul
Her studio MAA also created Seoul Robot & AI Museum. Photo by Namsun Lee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k, who worked at Zaha Hadid Architects between 2006 and 2013, said the movement influenced the way of thinking in her generation of architects.<\/p>\n

“I have never identified with parametricism as a style,” said Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k. “For me, it was never about formal language or visual identity. It was about learning how to work with complexity.”<\/p>\n

“The debate around parametricism as a style often reduces a methodological shift to a visual signature,” she explained. “For my generation, the real transformation was epistemological rather than aesthetic. It changed how we think, not just how we draw.”<\/p>\n

“Working with Zaha Hadid was transformative”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k does not call herself a parametricist, MAA’s portfolio is closely associated with parametricism, with notable projects including the \u00c7aml\u0131ca TV and Radio Tower<\/a> and Seoul Robot & AI Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She said that while they may visually align with the fluid and dynamic forms of parametricism, “the real project is the intelligence behind it”.<\/p>\n

By this, she means her buildings are designed as part of a wider environmental, social and technological system.<\/p>\n

“At MAA, we do not design parametric forms,” she explained. “Computation is not used to produce a recognisable aesthetic, but to integrate nature, technology and human experience into coherent architectural systems,” she continued.<\/p>\n

“We design systems of relationships. Computation allows us to navigate multiple parameters simultaneously between climate, program, structure, fabrication and social context. The result may appear fluid or dynamic, but the real project is the intelligence behind it.”<\/p>\n

Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k’s said these ideas began during her time as a student at the Architectural Association<\/a> (AA) between 2004 and 2006.<\/p>\n

“At the AA Design Research Laboratory in London, I was exposed to computational thinking not as an aesthetic agenda,” she reflected.<\/p>\n

“We were not designing objects; we were designing systems. We were scripting behaviours, relationships and performance. We were organising connections between structure and skin, geometry and performance, environment and human occupation. That mindset has stayed with me.”<\/p>\n