When solving a PDE problem numerically, a certain mesh-refinement process is
always implicit, and very classically, mesh adaptivity is a very effective
means to accelerate grid convergence. Similarly, when optimizing a shape by
means of an explicit geometrical representation, it is natural to seek for an
analogous concept of parameterization adaptivity. We propose here an adaptive
parameterization for three-dimensional optimum design in aerodynamics by using
the so-called "Free-Form Deformation" approach based on 3D tensorial B\'ezier
parameterization. The proposed procedure leads to efficient numerical
simulations with highly reduced computational costs