AADRL.net - Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory MArch. Introduction: Parametric design. What is parametric design ? There is no precise definition and there are other related terms and synonyms: generative, computational, digital, computer aided, associative. Basically it's far more sophisticated than using computer instead of drawing board. Often when You draw/model your concept, You follow certain operations which are monotone and repetitive, they are algorithms and what's for sure computers are best at algorithms, so why should You do it manually ? For example, think of an elevation with windows, each window must have an area equal to 1/8 of room's floor area. LY LUAN VE PARAMETRICISM. Computational Design Italy.