• PA Newsletter
  • Posts
  • Architecture Before CAD and BIM: Design in the Analog Era

Architecture Before CAD and BIM: Design in the Analog Era

Read today’s standout stories redefining design at Parametric Architecture!

Author

Yagmur Baydır
May 29, 2025

For today’s edition, we’ve got a bundle of interesting articles, insights, and trends just for you. Let’s take a look:

  • Before CAD and BIM, architecture was a pure hands-on crafting process.

  • These top AI tools can adapt to your specific needs, offering photorealistic renderings, dynamic visualizations.

  • Architects are increasingly adopting advanced software tools like Rhino3D, SketchUp, and Archicad to enhance sustainability in design.

  • In architecture, "parametric" shifts from its mathematical roots to signify a practical approach to exploring design possibilities.

❝

The computer is a tool, not a partner, an instrument for catching the curve, not for inventing it.

Frank Gehry

🚀 If you are looking to learn about computational design, PAACADEMY offers everything you need under one Full-Access membership. Be sure to check it out!

▶️ PAACADEMY is now on YouTube! Explore our latest software tutorials and design guides.

Warm regards,
Parametric Architecture

Architecture Before CAD and BIM: Design in the Analog Era

Before CAD and BIM, architecture was a pure hands-on crafting process. Designs were drawn manually, ideas explored through sketches only, and buildings documented without computers.

Best 3D Rendering Software for Architectural Design in 2025

In today’s architecture industry, where visual communication plays a critical role in the design process, 3D rendering has become an indispensable tool for turning ideas into immersive conceptual and photorealistic visuals.

Best Tools for Sustainable Architectural Design Workflows

In an era defined by climate change and rapid urbanization, sustainability has become a core element for contemporary architectural design practices. Here are notable architectural software tools for developing sustainable design workflows.

The Role of Parametric Design Tools in Shaping Modern Architecture

From Gaudí’s weighted strings to today’s algorithmic marvels, parametricism reshapes the aesthetics of our built environment.

Blueprints in Motion: From Maya to Unreal Engine

This workshop teaches participants how to create interactive, real-time parametric design systems using Maya, Grasshopper, and Unreal Engine. The workshop is scheduled for Jun 21 & 22, 2025.

3D-Printing Clay Mastery

This workshop is designed for artists, architects, designers, and digital fabricators interested in deepening their understanding of clay 3D printing. The workshop is scheduled for July 19 & 20, 2025.

Top 10 Rendering Engines for Architects and Designers

Rendering is a 2D image or a video generated by using a 3D modeling computer software. There are 2 types of rendering processes: Real-time rendering and Offline rendering.

Scripting Forms in Architecture Using Grasshopper3D

This article explores how algorithmic and script-based workflows empower architectural design to generate intricate and diverse forms, particularly using Grasshopper3D.

Top AI Tools for Rendering and Visualization

These top AI tools can adapt to your specific needs, offering photorealistic renderings, dynamic visualizations, and even collaborative environments to refine ideas.

Biomorphic Architecture: From Theory to Design Tools

Explore biomorphic architecture, its unique design qualities, the relevant computational tools, and a designer’s perspective in crafting these expressive forms.

Artefacts of Growth: Biomorphic Structures in Cinema 4D

This workshop teaches architects and designers to create organic, parametric designs and renderings using Cinema 4D and Corona Renderer. The workshop is scheduled for Jun 21 & 22, 2025.

Scripting Forms: Grasshopper3D & Blender

This workshop focuses on creating and applying design languages using Rhino Grasshopper and Blender 3D Geometry Nodes. The workshop is scheduled for Jun 14 & 15, 2025.