Abstract: The Parametric and BIM have become the two popular words often mentioned by architects. It was only about five years ago when few actually understood what they were, but nowadays almost everyone can talk about them. Whereas, the Parametric has been regarded as the representative of complex form, meanwhile, there are many versions of BIM interpretation in China. Some even stack up the Parametric and BIM, as well as many other popular words such as Non-linear, and Algorithmic, somehow exposing the significant malposition of the purposes and the processes of applying the digital techniques. In order to comprehend what is the Parametric, BIM, and their relationships, we must discuss them in the context of architectural design practice. This article starts from investigating the comprehensive meaning of the Parametric and BIM based upon the understanding of generalized design activities. Then, it employs the Four Quadrants framework by Ken Wilber to elaborate the relationships between BIM and design, between the Parametric and design, and between the Parametric and BIM, before looking forward into the future directions. In the end, the conclusion was summarized as that no matter the Parametric or BIM, they are all the vehicles but not the destinations, the processes but not the purposes. Only when we understand their relationships upon architectural design practice, can we improve the collective efficiency and the design qualities of the team without constraining individual designers’ intuitive and heuristic creativities.

Key words: generalized parametric, Building Information Modeling, architectural design, four quadrants, information management and communication, intuitive creativity, autonomous generation, various possibilities

摘要： 参数化与BIM这两个词越来越多地被建筑师们挂在嘴上，在中国从鲜有人知到谁都能说点，也就是过去三、五年的事情。时至今日，参数化已经成为复杂形体的代词，对于BIM的理解也是众说纷纭，有人甚至把参数化和BIM等“时髦”的词语罗列在一起，暴露了对于这些数字化技术应用背后本质和动机的错位。要想真正领悟什么是参数化，什么是BIM，以及二者之间的关系，就需要把参数化和BIM放到设计实践的语境下讨论。本文以广义的设计实践为媒介，先分别探讨如何全面理解参数化，BIM和设计？然后在此基础上，利用设计四方维度的哲学框架，详细阐述BIM与设计的关系、参数化与设计的关系、参数化和设计的关系，最后展望BIM与参数化的未来。本文结尾，提出无论是参数化还是BIIM，他们都是过程和途径，不是目的，只有正确理解它们和建筑设计之间的关系，才能在提升设计团队工作效率和质量的同时，不限制设计师个体源于经验和直觉的创造性。

关键词: 广义参数化, BIM, 建筑设计, 四方维度, 信息管理与交流, 主观创造能动性, 自主创生, 变化可能