1 Computational Methods on Tall Buildings The Bishopsgate Tower Stylianos Dritsas, Renos Charitou, Lars Hesselgren Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, London, UK http://www.kpf.com Abstract. This paper summarizes the ongoing research done on The Bishopsgate Tower in the City of London using parametric design methodologies. The process is indicative of how computational methods will develop in the future and help designers find solutions for increasingly complex spaces. Keywords. Tall Buildings, Computational Geometry, Building Information Management, Façade Optimization. Introduction In the world of commercial office development two factors are paramount: cost and return on capital. Often these considerations, in addition to technical issues, dictate relatively simple geometric solutions. The breakthrough in this development is achieving complex designs through simple fundamental geometries. These geometries can express architectural ideas while keeping their construction simple. Computer aided design systems enable architects to explore design concepts and integrate aesthetic and programmatic constraints. Our research focuses on the aspects related to the architectural process of defining and evolving design, within its contextual requirements, using computation. Specifically we present the process we developed and employed in order to address pragmatic considerations, such as the explicit geometric definition of form, the calculation of building performance metrics and the optimization of design domains. This ongoing research is part of the community’s efforts to introduce and integrate cutting-edge digital methodologies into the design practice. We illustrate the potential of these technologies through the documentation of our solution. Architectural Description The computational application was developed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for the design of The Bishopsgate Tower. The Bishopsgate Tower, located at Bishopsgate and Crosby Square will become one of the most significant new buildings in the City of London with a design that will strengthen the overall character and identity of the emerging cluster of tall buildings in this location (Figure 1). The proposal will make a substantial contribution to the public realm, opening up the ground level area to pedestrians and linking a number of important urban spaces along Bishopsgate and St. Mary Axe. Figure 1. The Site in the City of London