Furthering the Flexibility of Space Through Parametric Design

The accelerating rate of change of modern society is causing buildings to struggle to meet the changing needs of their occupants, resulting in higher need for renovation or reconstruction. Designing with diverse sets of occupants and their possible future conditions in mind can help create flexible buildings. This can be accomplished by placing greater design focus on occupant design agency through reconfigurability and multiplicity of space. Flexibility, occupant design agency, and the unknown factors of the future are complex problems which are well suited to digital parametric design processes. Creating a parametric design algorithm that directly uses unitized, architect-designed components and spatial layouts, makes decisions based on architect-defined logic, and focuses on usability and flexibility as an end goal can help shift design focus towards the needs of diverse sets of occupants in the present, and projected future.