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Hi guys!

Generative design is a huge part of what has led to the resurgence of the architecture industry in the past few decades. Methods of parametric modelling and design have monumentally transformed the way that architects develop a formal logic to designing complex buildings.

Photo: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)

One of the pioneering pieces of parametrically designed architecture came just after the turn of the century. Designed by Zaha Hadid in 2003, the Guangzhou Opera House has become a major staple to the community while expressing a generative algorithm derived from an early prototype of a now-popular modelling language called Grasshopper. The algorithm considered various inputs including topography, sunlight, and population density projections to achieve a superfluous design that achieves optimally designed sonic clarity while adapting to environmental conditions in China.

Grasshopper is now used throughout the architecture industry to make important considerations like weather, topography, or mathematical logic a staple in the design process.