Parametric Design for Marine and Coastal Structures Erasmus Project

Project Title

Parametric Design for Marine and Coastal Structures

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

In the last two decades of the twentieth century the computer has assumed an increasingly important role Initially it was chiefly a tool useful in the process of laying out a design. Then it became a medium for leading the design. Now it is being recognized as a force that will significantly reshape the built environment.

At this point, parametric design provides a methodology to cope with these complex parameters that should be integrated into any design process. The ground of parametric design is the generation of geometry from the definition of a family of initial parameters and the design of the formal relations they keep with each other.

Marine and coastal structures can be considered as an interface of water and land, air, communities and visitors. From Civil Engineering perspective a clash of contradicting parameters, which must be optimized and integrated to the city life.
Being one of the important topics of Civil Engineering, marine and coastal structures are also one of the main interests of City and Regional Planning profession and Architecture profession, because of their undeniable mark on the city scape and on the citizen’s and visitor’s memory. They portray the main image of the city.

Parametric design can encompass, a wide range of scale for marine/coastal structures from building blocks to mega-structures. Since parametric design is widely used for generating patterns, (or rather discover the inherent patterns) analyzing the parameters of materials (durability, flexibility, corrosiveness etc.) and parameters of context (wind and water load, temperature and humidity etc.) it can be a helpful tool for designing building blocks for waterfronts.

TARGET GROUP 1) YOUTH: Main target group of this project is university students, especially in the engineering and architecture departments. It is very important for engineering and architecture students to have this kind of new and innovative approach during which will be a great asset for their creativeness in their future professional carreer.
TARGET GROUP 2) YOUTH WORKERS: Parametric design is a new approach with its innovative structure, therefore, it is very important for the academicians to learn and reach to a certain level of capacity in parametric design. For this purpose, second target group is academicians as the youth workers since they transfer this knowledge to youth in the future.
The methodology that was followed in order to reach to project goals is as follows:
1) Handbook for Parametric Design: This handbook includes these basic sections
– a general overview for parametric design approach
– the importance of design parameters in marine and coastal structures
– parameters used for the design of marine and coastal structures with conventional approach
– parametric design concept in marine and coastal structures
2) A software containing an algorithm for parametric design for marine and coastal structures: A software based algorithm developed where all parameters are considered for parametric design for marine and coastal structures. This software (algorithm) is a part of the training methodology and the training activities specified below.
3) Training of young trainers on parametric design for marine and coastal structures: main target group that has trained under this activity is university students in the departments of engineering and architecture. These young trainers is trained by using the handbook specified above.
4) Training of youth workers on parametric design for marine and coastal structures: In this training activity, main target group is academicians in the architecture and engineering departments of the universities, experts and researchers whom are active in the field of youth area.
5) Design of a virtual marine and/or coastal structure by a selected group trained under “training of young trainers”: This is a case study where the selected group among young trainers gained experience and implement all the technical leanings about parametric design approach and design a virtual structure with all aspects. By this activity, young trainers gained experience and capacity of, not only theoretical approach but also the practical implementation.
6) Training methodology: A training document is prepared by considering the whole experience and knowledge gained through the whole steps indicated above. This training document includes the design activity indicated in item (4) as an example parametric design for marine and coastal structures. It also includes how to use the software (algorithm) during parametric design for marine and coastal structures.
7) Training seminars for youth by a selected group of young trainers: Training seminars has organized especially for university students in engineering and architecture departments and also in unities, associations, institutions and civil society organizations.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 199316,5 Eur

Project Coordinator

MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY & Country: TR

Project Partners

• YILDIZ TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
• UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
• Tera Ankara Musavirlik Mimarlik Muhendislik Taahhut Ticaret Ltd Sti
• POLYTECHNEIO KRITIS
• UNIVERSIDAD DE CANTABRIA
• Fatmagul Aslaner Gegeoglu Mimarlik Burosu