Computational Design: NEXT 11

Daniel Bolojan, the founder of nonstandardstudio, senior architect in CoopHimmelblau, and an Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University’s school of architecture, will address the audience at the coming Computational Design event: NEXT 11 conference. Bolojan established his research studio, Nonstandardstudio, in 2013. Daniel’s design research has evolved over the years as a result of Nonstandardstudio’s work at the intersection of generative design, computation, multi-agent systems, machine learning, and deep learning. He has taught several design studios and seminars at the Institute of Structure and Design-University of Innsbruck, Florida International University Miami, and has led numerous international workshops and conference workshops on applying complex systems and Neural Networks in architectural design. Upon graduation, he joined the internationally renowned architectural practice CoopHimmelblau as a Computational Designer, where he had the opportunity to work on numerous internationally renowned projects and competitions. Daniel held the position of Junior Associate, Computational Design Specialist & Founder, and Head of Chbl|Code at CoopHimmelblau. As the head of Chbl|Code, he held the leading role of developing custom computational design tools, computational design strategies, virtual and augmented reality applications, machine learning tools, neural networks, and robotic fabrication processes. He is responsible for the office’s current drive to develop deep learning strategies to augment the designer’s native abilities via the DeepHimmelblau neural network.

Winka Dubbeldam, the founder and principal of Archi-Tectonics, will present and showcase some of her creative work at the upcoming Computational Design: NEXT 11 conference. Winka is a seasoned academic and design leader, serving as Chair and Miller Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. She also taught advanced architectural design studios at Columbia University and Harvard University, among other prestigious institutions. Dubbeldam was named one of the Design Intelligence 30 Most Admired Educators in 2015. She was the External Examiner at the Architectural Association London (2006-2009) and is currently the External Examiner at the Bartlett UCL in London (2019-present). She has been a juror and chaired many international and national award juries, lectured, and was the keynote speaker at international conferences. Winka is one of the creative directors for CityX for the Virtual Italian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale [2021].

Daniel Koehler is an urbanist, architect, and assistant professor for architecture computation at UT Austin, will commence a lecture and a Q&A session showcasing his works and tools at the Computational Design: NEXT 11 conference. Daniel researched at the Bartlett in London and Innsbruck University, where he wrote his Ph.D., published as “The Mereological City,” a study on the part-relationships between architecture and its city in the modern period. Daniel’s work has been exhibited in Prague, Milan, Venice, Graz, Montreal, London, and Austin and is part of the permanent collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. His current research focuses on the urban implications of distributive technologies, which are designed utilizing sets, data, interfaces, and their architecture.

Masoud Akbarzadeh, Assistant Professor of Architecture in Structures and Construction Technologies at the University of Pennsylvania and Director at Polyhedral Structures Laboratory, will showcase his amazing research and practice projects in a 45-minute lecture followed by a 15-minute Q&A session at the upcoming conference Computational Design: NEXT 11. Masoud Akbarzadeh is a designer with academic background and experience in architectural design, computation, and structural engineering. He holds a D.Sc. from the Institute of Technology in Architecture, ETH Zurich, where he was a research assistant in the Block Research Group. In addition, he has two degrees from MIT: a Master of Science in Architecture Studies (Computation) and a MArch, the thesis for which earned him the renowned SOM award. He also has a degree in Earthquake Engineering and Dynamics of Structures from the Iran University of Science and Technology and a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His main research topic is Three-Dimensional Graphical Statics, a novel geometric method of structural design in three dimensions. In 2020, he received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award to extend the methods of 3D/Polyhedral Graphic Statics for Education, Design, and Optimization of High-Performance Structures. He is also a Co-PI in a $4.6 million grant funded by National Science Foundation to investigate high-performance, self-Morphing building blocks across scales toward a Sustainable Future. Has also received a $2.4 Million ARPA-E Grant to Research the Design of Carbon-Negative Buildings starting September 2022.

Marziah Zad, an award-winning architect, Researcher, co-founder of UDA, and the academic coordinator of the Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings at IAAC, will deliver a 45-minute lecture and a 15-minute Q&A session at the Computational Design: NEXT 11. Marziah Zad developed professional design experience in Lebanon, Spain, Iran, and West Coast USA before co-founding Ashrafi & Zad Design in 2019. Ashrafi & Zad combines a professional background in digital tools and advanced, lightweight design with aspirations of place-making, inclusion, and accessibility. Working from the intimate scale to the territorial, the practice has been awarded multiple distinctions for design and completed projects. Marziah has architecture instructional experience at the University of Oregon, San Jose State University, and The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona. As an instructor in practice, much of her teaching is based on research and focuses on the connection between advanced digital design strategies and inclusive design.

Theo Sarantoglou Lalis, an architect, founding director at LASSA Architects, and teaching staff at the Architectural Association, London, will contribute with a 45-minute lecture followed by a 15-minute Q&A session at the Computational Design: NEXT 11 conference. Theo is a French and Greek architect. He currently teaches at the Architectural Association in London. He has taught postgraduate studios at Harvard and Columbia and undergraduate studios at Chalmers and LTU in Sweden. He has lectured internationally and run architecture and urban design workshops in the US, South America, Europe, and Asia. He received his master’s from the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) in London and has been a registered architect at the ARB since 2003. He has experience practicing architecture in 18 countries and has been a registered architect since 2001.

Hassan Ragab is an architect, interdisciplinary designer, and conceptual artist with 15 years of experience spanning various domains, including architecture, exhibition design, museography, furniture design, computational design, construction, and generative art. Central to his practice, Hassan is passionate about blending identity, beauty, and technology. He believes that all art forms are interconnected, and design narratives should move beyond the modernist ideology of “Form Follows Function,” a concept that has dominated the design world over the past decade.In January 2023, Hassan Ragab established HSNRGB Studio, an interdisciplinary design and art studio. Since its inception, he has engaged in and collaborated on various projects across the design and art spectrum in numerous countries worldwide. His work encompasses architecture, design, art exhibitions, storytelling, branding, heritage, and advocating and educating about generative art and human heritage. Hassan strongly emphasizes integrating technology with humanity and culture, striving to elevate awareness of their convergence.Hassan lives in Southern California. His experiences vary between exhibition design, product design, furniture design, and textile design. Hassan’s work is better associated with computation, experimentation, and digital fabrication. Currently, he is providing computational design solutions in the AEC industry for a mega architectural project in downtown LA.

Cody Thurston, a member of the 3D design team at DECKERS BRANDS and a 3D visualizer, will be tutoring computational design tools and how to use them in product design in a 90-minute tutorial at the upcoming Computational Design: NEXT 11 conference. Cody works in a team that aids all internal brands in deckers with modeling, rendering, and manufacturing footwear. Cody specializes in advanced concepts, tooling modeling, parametric design, and photorealistic renderings. Outside of footwear. Cody aims to connect the outdoors and emerging tech. In his work, he is currently exploring 3D scanning for conservation, parametric fishing lures, and NFT evolutionary plant growth.

Milad Showkatbakhsh, Co-Founder of Wallacei, Ph.D. from the Architectural Association, and Studio Master of Emergent Technologies and Design [EmTech] Postgraduate Program at AA, will be teaching a 90-minute tutorial using different computational design tools at the upcoming conference Computational Design: NEXT 11. Milad Showkatbakhsh obtained his BSc. in Architectural Engineering from Shahid Beheshti University. Then he completed his M.Arch. from Pratt Institute, where he graduated with the Sidney Katz award for design excellence in 2015. Also, he holds a Ph.D. from the Architectural Association School of Architecture titled “Homeostatic Urban Morphologies: an Evolutionary Model to Generate Urban Morphologies with Embedded Homeostatic Behaviours.” Dr. Milad Showkatbakhsh is the Studio Master of Emergent Technologies and Design [EmTech] Postgraduate Programme at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA). He also co-directs AA Istanbul Visiting School and AA Dlab, focusing on integrating algorithmic design methods with large-scale digital fabrication tools. Milad’s research interest is the application of biological principles of intelligence in architecture and urban design through rigorous computational processes. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. He co-founded ‘Wallacei’, an evolutionary and analytic engine with embedded machine learning algorithms that give users full control over their evolutionary simulations in Grasshopper 3D.

Ili Shchanikov, Computational designer, educator, and co-founder at Heracléum Sosnówskyi, will be delivering a 90-minute tutorial at the Computational Design: NEXT 11 conference. Ili studied architecture and holds two graduate M.Arch degrees from Russia in (2010 and 2015). He has been studying computational design since 2014, and his current field of interest is the study of the history and theory of computational architecture in conjunction with philosophy. Ili Shchanikov has been teaching computational design at Moscow Architectural Institute for three years as a lecturer. He co-founded Heracléum Sosnówskyi, an architectural bureau that not only does architecture but also education: they ran educational courses in parametric design and visualization for students, organized in such a way that some of the students could study for free. Ili was a member of the Simplex Noise team that consults, develops, and implements computational tools and technologies for design automation. He is also, the founder of Surface Calculated, an interior jewelry brand exploring digital form-finding techniques, including not only general issues of mass-customization products, but above all shaping techniques, including the study of patterns, folding, layering, and superposition, as well as the interrelationship of families of elements.

Hamid Hassanzadeh is a distinguished architect, entrepreneur, researcher, and speaker. Having earned his degree in architectural engineering in 2012, Hamid has since contributed to various architectural projects across multiple regions around the globe. In early 2016, he founded the ParametricArchitecture platform, initially launching on Instagram. Today, ParametricArchitecture, often abbreviated as PA, stands as a globally renowned hub for parametric, computational design, and AI lovers, boasting over 20 million monthly interactions on the internet. Hamid endeavors to demystify the intricacies of the parametric, computational, and AI realms through compelling articles, interviews, workshops, podcasts, and conferences disseminated across various digital platforms. Furthermore, he’s the visionary behind PAACADEMY, an educational entity under the aegis of PA, dedicated to propagating the concepts of computational architecture and design. The PAACADEMY, as an educational platform, educates and engages with its audience, introducing them to advanced techniques and algorithms employed by architects, designers, and coders alike. He highlights exemplary projects executed using state-of-the-art design software, ensuring that his audience not only witnesses but also comprehends the depth and philosophy of these avant-garde design practices. Moreover, as the esteemed host of the 'PA Talks' interview series, he engages in enriching conversations with architects, orchestrates numerous workshops, conferences, and events, and has had the privilege of interviewing myriad globally acclaimed architects, delving into their methodologies and foresighted visions for the architectural landscape.

Michael Pryor is a multi-faceted designer utilizing Rhino + Grasshopper, C#, Maya, ZBrush, Houdini and others. He is currently a Head of Procedural Generation at Wilder World Metaverse and the CDO of DesignMorphine. Previously he was a Computational Designer at Nike NXT on performance footwear. He has been involved in various major architectural works in the US, China, Dubai, and Lebanon. Previously, he worked at Trahan, SOMA, OLI, and [AY]A on projects ranging from museums, housing, restaurants, furniture, products, exhibits and prototypes. Michael is the author of the popular Grasshopper3d plug-in Pufferfish with over 150k downloads. He has been the tutor to workshops by the AA visiting school Paris with Louis Vuitton, 3D-Dreaming, Rese.Arch, MIT OSL, Harvard GSD, rat[LAB], PA, Meal, and DesignMorphine.