Melike Altınışık: Parametricism changed how we think, but should not be universal style

Turkish architect Melike Altınışık, founder of Melike Altınışık Architects (MAA), argues that parametricism has positively influenced architectural thinking but should not become the universal style as advocated by Patrik Schumacher. In an interview with Dezeen, she states that computational tools may become universal, but architecture must remain culturally and geographically specific. Altınışık, a former protege of Zaha Hadid who worked at Zaha Hadid Architects from 2006 to 2013, says parametricism shifted architecture from object-making to system-thinking and influenced an entire generation. However, she believes the ambition to make it the single global style is misguided. Her studio's notable projects include the Çamlıca TV and Radio Tower in Istanbul and the Seoul Robot & AI Museum. Altınışık studied at the Architectural Association (AA) Design Research Laboratory in London from 2004 to 2006, where she learned computational thinking as a systemic approach. She emphasizes that architecture education must cultivate both traditional craft and algorithmic logic, and that digital tools should produce diversity, not uniformity. The interview is part of Dezeen's parametricism series, which also features contrasting views from Schumacher and writer Douglas Spencer.