Parametric Design Practice

Livia Zaharia is a Romanian architect and parametric jewellery artist working under the label Paral Design (Parametric Livia). She translates computational architectural methods into intimate, research-driven, body-scale artefacts — rings, pendants, earrings, and wearable objects that sit at the intersection of generative art, speculative design, and experimental contemporary jewellery.

Method

The design process uses parametric and script-driven 3D modelling — primarily Grasshopper for Rhino, the COMPAS computational framework, and custom Python scripts. Base geometries are defined and then transformed into multiple variants through controlled changes in equations and parameters.

Fabrication

The workflow moves from digital modelling through 3D printing, then to casting in silver and other metals, and finally manual assembly — incorporating hand-assembled mechanisms, traditional metalworking, and mixed-material construction.

Materials

Silver, brass, copper, quartz, amber, walnut husks, 3D-printed elements, and repurposed found objects recontextualised into new pieces.

Visual Language

• Fractal — self-similar structures at multiple scales
• Biomimetic — forms that echo biological morphology without directly copying specific organisms
• Layered surfaces — complex stacked or nested geometries
• Repeated modules — parametric repetition with controlled variation
• Complex curvature — non-planar surfaces inviting tactile exploration

Pieces appear inspired by shells, corals, plants, or cellular structures — yet are generated entirely through code and parametric rules. This raises the question of what counts as "original" versus "copy" when an algorithm produces forms indistinguishable from natural ones.