ABSTRACT
Parametric design has created the possibility for designing shapes and forms using variable data as a method for defining form. There are as many types of data as there are forms to be created; however, a few particular categories have developed as genres for parametric design: structure, materiality, environmental systems, and genetic systems. Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (CAST) has worked to develop a variety of techniques for using fabric formwork to pour expressive concrete shapes of all kinds, including beams, columns, Shot-crete panels, trusses, and vaults. The bending moment of a beam can be described simply by the fact that the beam is weaker the further it is from its support. The center of the beam is the weakest, and the bending moment is shaped in a curved profile back to a column connection at each end. The beams that CAST was able to create are relatively close matches to this profile.
