by Elizabeth Bollinger

"Smart geometry" technology has been coming to life in the field of digital architectural design and fabrication. Even those unfamiliar with the parametric modeling approach have seen its effects in innovative building forms over the past few years. Among those collaborating to advance education and research in the area of advanced 3D CAD applications is a small group of scientists, architects, and inventors — the Smart Geometry Group.

The group is led by Lars Hesselgren of Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), Hugh Whitehead of Foster and Partners, J. Parrish of Arup Sport, and Robert Aish of Bentley Systems, Incorporated. These designers have been applying parametric modeling to architecture, and they are currently focusing their developmental efforts on the technology created by Aish and Bentley called GenerativeComponents (GC).

The software's inception was inspired by a few buildings that had been designed in recent years based on the work of the Smart Geometry Group. These include the Swiss Re by Foster and Partners and the Waterloo International Station by Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners.   >>>

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The Bishopsgate Tower in London, designed by KPF using GenerativeComponents, will become the tallest building in London. Image: Model by KPF/ rendering by Cityscape Extra Large Image Process of applying a structural system to the base geometry of Bishopsgate Tower. Image: Kohn Pedersen Fox   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.