STF#9 - 2025: Presentations
The Evolution and Future of Parametric Thinking – A fireside talk between David Rutten & Arthur Mamou-Mani
McNeel
Mamou-Mani & FabPub
From its inception as a tool to empower creative coding in design to its widespread adoption across architecture, engineering, and beyond - Grasshopper has transformed how we think, design, and build.
In this conversation, we delve into the journey of its creator: the origins of the tool, the human story behind it, and its unexpected impact on industries beyond Architecture & Engineering, such as food, jewellery, footwear, automotive styling, robotics and many more. How does a humble algorithm become a learning portal, a creative enabler, and an industry disruptor? And where does it go next in the era of AI-driven design automation?
Join us for a reflective and forward-thinking discussion that transcends software and ventures into the essence of computational creativity, education, and the interconnectedness of disciplines.
Have a question you'd like Arthur to ask David? Then let us know by emailing us your Grasshopper questions for David, we look forward to hearing from you and asking your questions live in April!
These images showcase the new bar at Fortnum & Mason, an iconic British institution on Piccadilly, London. It beautifully illustrates how parametric design has evolved beyond its futuristic, high-tech origins to seamlessly integrate into warm, crafted, and intimate spaces. The intricate latticework, sculpted through computational design, filters light in a way that feels organic, cozy, and inviting - proving that digital craftsmanship and traditional hospitality are not mutually exclusive but rather complementary.
Just as Grasshopper has blurred the lines between disciplines, parametric design now finds itself in settings once reserved for classic craftsmanship, from haute couture restaurants to heritage brands. This makes it the perfect backdrop for a fireside chat with David Rutten and Arthur Mamou-Mani on the evolution, universality, and future of computational creativity.
David Rutten - David is the Lead Developer of the Grasshopper plug-in for Rhino. A graduate of TUDelft Architecture and Urbanism faculties.
David has worked for Robert McNeel & Associates since 2006 on several programs, the most important of which is the Grasshopper visual programming environment for Rhinoceros 3D.
Arthur Mamou-Mani AA dipl, ARB/RIBA FRSA –Wikipedia– is a Franco-British architect, and director of the award-winning architecture practice Mamou-Mani, specialising in a new kind of digitally designed and fabricated architecture.
Arthur is a lecturer at the University of Westminster, and has given numerous talks around the world on “Eco-Parametric” architectural practice, including three TedX conferences in the U.S ,France and UK.
A fellow of the Royal Society for Encouragement of the Arts Manufacture and Commerce, he has won the American Architecture prize, the RIBAj Rising Star Award and has recently been awarded the prestigious Pierre Cardin Prize for Architecture from the Academie des Beaux-Arts in France.
In 2020 the Architects Journal named Mamou-Mani one of its 100 ‘Disruptor’ practices who are challenging the norms of traditional architecture practice in their drive to bring about sustainable alternatives. Alongside his architectural practice Arthur founded the digital-fabrication laboratory FabPub, allowing the public to experiment with large-scale laser cutting and 3D printing equipment in Hackney, London.
Images: The Wavery by Mamou-Mani. Photos by David Loftus.