Several weeks ago I travelled  with my professor Dan Johnson to attend the Politics of Parametricism conference at the REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles. For my senior thesis at Belmont, I’ve been working with Dan and several other faculty members in a study of parametricism applied to user interface design. The conference consisted of four panel presentations and discussions looking at the political ramifications of parametricist architecture and design. Two interesting questions were raised around this topic:

1. To what degree does architecture affect politics or espouse a particular ideology?
2. Does parametricism inhibit, promote, or support a particular political ideology?

Patrik Schumacher, company director and senior designer at Zaha Hadid Architects, was part of the keynote panel on Friday night. Patrik is the foremost advocate for parametricism, having coined the term. He has written many intriguing papers on the subject freely available on his website. He works with Zaha Hadid, the most well known parametricist architect, at the firm Zaha Hadid Architects. He is pictured in the above photo on the right talking with Reinhold Martin.

Based on his talk, Schumacher seemed to believe that in order to enact political change the architect has to operate within the current political system. The approach felt more focused on pragmatism which makes sense coming from Patrik’s perspective as a practicing architect. In the discussion following the talk, numerous opponents of his ideas spoke out arguing that parametricism reinforced neo-liberal ideals and increased marginalization. They pointed out that his work and ideas do little to address social issues and comes off as elitist or even fascist. Throughout the rest of the conference there were some strong opposition to Patrik’s ideas. This opposition stirred up strong feelings in the other speakers even to the degree that they acted disrespectfully and unprofessionally towards Patrik.

Parametricism is still in the realm of the avant-garde, and therefore should stir up some form of controversy. Patrik and Zaha Hadid Arhictects are intentionally trying to push the form of architecture, and I believe they have succeeded. However, the problem with parametricism resides in its elaborate and expensive implementation. Since the construction techniques required to build parametricist building are fairly new and extremely complex, they are expensive. Because of this, relatively few buildings have been completed by Patrik and Zaha while many have been designed. Because of the financial factors involved in creating these buildings, Patrik and Zaha Hadid Architects have gathered several high profile clients in China and Dubai. While these clients draw criticism for Patrik, I believe they are necessary as financial backers for these buildings despite their neo-liberal/capitalistic agendas. To focus solely on these clients as a point of criticism also ignores the impact of the museums and public spaces which Patrik and Zaha Hadid Architects have built.

As a response to the second question addressed by the conference, architect and theorist, Neil Leach, raised an interesting counterpoint. Neil posed the idea that architecture did not impose political ideas like many would argue. He gave examples of the repurposable nature of buildings for divergent political beliefs and using postmodern theory argued for a performative role of buildings. Buildings can be designed in a way to inhibit or promote a political ideology, but their political effect is subjectively determined by their use. I agreed with him the most when he derided certain symbols in architecture which people commonly associated with political values. For instance, transparent glass is commonly associated with openness, but the significance of this symbol is minuscule and does not effect the actual use of the building. Now Neil’s theory might diminish the ideological power of the architect when designing a building, but perhaps that’s a good thing.

Overall the conference was very engaging, and the trip was a much needed vacation. I enjoyed getting to explore LA and to visit some family friends. The conference organizers mentioned that they would be interested in hosting a follow-up conference in New York as well as compiling a book from the talks. I would love to attend this second conference, and hopefully Patrik Schumacher will be invited again.

If you’re interested in finding out more about parametricism, here are a few links:

• Parametricism as Style – Parametricist Manifesto by Patrik Schumacher
• Examples of parametricism – gallery of works by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Short film showing the dynamic design process of parametricism by Patrik Schumacher with music by Rosey Chan

Update: March 20, 2014
The conference organizers have posted full videos from the talks on their Vimeo account. I recommend watching Patrik Schumacher and Reinhold Martin’s talk and debate and also Neil Leach’s talk.