Computational Design: NEXT 14

Kais Al-Rawi, AIA, is an architect, engineer, and technology expert who will give us 45 minutes speech at CD NEXT 14 about his specialization in solving complex building challenges through digital design. He is an Associate Director at the award-winning Structures and Facades firm Eckersley O’Callaghan’s Los Angeles office. Kais was named to the Airport Business Top 40 Under 40 (2022) list. His expertise has been used on world-class projects such as SoFi Stadium, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the San Diego Airport T1 redevelopment, West Gates at LAX, Daily’s Place, New Orleans Airport, and the Orange County Museum of Art, among others. He specializes in computational design and its application in the AEC industry, from concept to construction. Kais is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture and has taught and directed the Architectural Association Visiting School programs in Los Angeles and Jordan with a focus on space architecture. He was also a juror to NASA’s centennial challenge competition for Martian habitats.

Stefano Bastia is an architect and computational designer with a keen interest in multidisciplinary design research. In 2020, he co-founded SOA Architecture with colleague Eurind Caka, following several years at Mario Cucinella Architects in Bologna after graduating in 2016. Stefano holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Architecture from the University of Bologna, where he was awarded the Giacomo Venturi Best Thesis Prize in 2017.

From 2020 to 2021, Stefano served as a module professor in Digital and Parametric design at SOS – School of Sustainability. In 2023, he delivered a lecture at Computational Design: NEXT, sponsored by ParametricArchitecture and Designmorphine. His lecture explored the intricate relationship between humans and machines throughout history, focusing on the emergence of big data, AI, and complexity from philosophical and social perspectives.

Stefano Bastia is particularly intrigued by the implications of these phenomena in everyday life, including their social and political ramifications. Starting from data is fundamental to his research, enabling the identification of real issues within specific contexts and approaching them with heightened awareness to find practical solutions.

“We Program Beauty” embodies a dynamic and empathetic relationship with technology, outlining a new creative process. Our approach to complexity and methodology defines our CREATION and personal MODUS OPERANDI.

Nikita Replyanski is a Moscow-based Technological Artist and Cyber Fashion Designer renowned for his fusion of technology and the human body in physical and digital cyber art. With a decade of experience in the Digital Entertainment Industry, he transitioned from 3D game art to designing 3D printed prosthetic arms, ultimately making it his primary career focus. Today, Nikita creates captivating art projects in AR and 3D printing, excelling in High-Quality Cyber Fashion filters with custom designs and animations. Attendees at CDNext 14 can look forward to a 45-minute session where he’ll share insights into his visionary designs and the interplay of art and technology in cyber fashion.

With a focus on radical computational design methodologies, innovative robotic fabrication technologies, and the utilization of cutting-edge sustainable materials like mycelium, She specializes in exploring the future of the architectural form. As a speaker at CDNEXT 14, her expertise lies in speculating on the evolution of architectural design and pushing boundaries through a multidisciplinary approach. By seamlessly integrating technologies and techniques from fields such as biomedical, scientific, and robotic industries, She aims to create a new architectural language and introduce innovative products. Her deep admiration for nature inspires me to merge 3D printing techniques with sustainable materials to replace conventional petrochemical substances and foster the development of a sustainable built environment.

Madalin is a computational designer and entrepreneur with a MArch degree from UCL Bartlett, where he specialized in advanced computational workflows, high-resolution simulations, and robotic fabrication under Alisa Andrasek, Andy Lomas, and Daghan Cam. He played a key role in designing one of the world’s largest 3D-printed structures for the National Pavilion of Croatia at the Venice Biennale 2018. As an influential instructor at Design Morphine’s workshops, he focuses on coding and fabrication. Madalin developed the Nuclei Plugin for Grasshopper, exploring particle simulations through a logic inspired by the Slime Mold organism. Additionally, he imparts his expertise as a faculty member for Design Morphine’s Master of Science in Computational and Advanced Design program. Presently, Madalin fervently drives the development of Drag And Drop, a venture committed to redefining the aesthetics and functionality of everyday objects sustainably, leveraging cutting-edge design tools and 3D printing.

Danny McInnis is a Mechanical Engineer and CAD Expert at Logitech. He gets to work in between the mechanical engineering and industrial design teams, helping them solve complex product development problems through the lens of modern CAD & prototyping workflows. Danny supports a range of product teams, including MX, Gaming, Ergo, and Sim Racing, whether through Class-A Surfacing work, exploring new tools & workflows, or leading the company’s computational design efforts. In his presentation, he’ll demonstrate a workflow that’s become of interest to the company lately, where 3D scanning and SubD Modeling are used to extend Logitech’s foam modeling capabilities. This mix of physical craft and computational tools allows for a wide range of ergonomic shapes to be explored quickly to arrive at the best product for the consumer.

Oksana is a surface designer who creates captivating patterns and will give a 45-minute-long lecture during Computational Design: NEXT 14. She aims for a design understanding of where art meets math and beauty merges with logic. She weaves creative fabrics, wallpapers, and products that ooze personality and charm, from vibrant floral motifs to intricate geometric shapes. Also, she holds a master’s degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Her expertise includes product development, creating virtual reality tools, designing customized interfaces to boost sales, leading R&D teams, and collaborating with cross-functional teams on projects of all sizes on value-based priorities. She mastered parametric modeling software to create design and engineering solutions, including developing current products and producing new products to extend the company’s portfolio. She has collaborated with Zaha Hadid Architects, UNStudio, HOK, SOM, and Grimshaw Architects.

Nolan Kim is a computational designer who will deliver his explorations in highly-functional parametric structures and additive manufacturing. Drawing from nature and procedural patterns, his work explores how complex geometries can re-imagine commonplace products. Beyond appealing aesthetics, his projects encourage the discovery of heightened function within the interplay between efficient material usage and conscious structural forms. Much of his early work investigated the correlation between 3D-printed geometries and long-distance running performance. He went on to head many of the computational design projects at Desktop Metal, leveraging his knowledge of parametric structures and access to a wide array of additive manufacturing resources to develop applications for automotive components, sports products, industrial tools, and interior designs.

Kate Reed is a Bio-designer who will demonstrate wearable technology and deliver a 90-minute-long exciting tutorial at the upcoming Computational Design: NEXT 14 online conference. She created her first wearable when she was 13, prior to the release of the Apple Watch. She has designed, engineered, and built hundreds of wearable computers since then. Kate received two undergraduate degrees after graduating from the MIT-backed NuVu Studio, one in Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Brown University and the other in Industrial Design & Computational Technology at The Rhode Island School of Design. Her designs and inventions have been displayed at the White House, New York Fashion Week, the Museum of Design Atlanta, the Hackaday Superconference, the MIT Museum, and other locations.

Zvonko is an architect turned engineer and digital fabricator. He is currently addressing the challenge of integrating data science and machine learning into design and fabrication processes. He is working on his company, Pixolid UG, which operates in these fields, in Berlin. Zvonko has also been active in academia, working as a researcher and lecturer at various universities in Berlin and the surrounding area, including TU Berlin, BTU Cottbus, and IU Berlin, in the fields of digital fabrication, robotics, and computational/generative design.

His work focuses on bridging the gap between digital models and physical realities by training models to enhance robot-to-robot and human-to-robot collaboration. In this workshop, he will share his experience of translating real-world objects from photographs and demonstrate how computer vision and adaptive toolpaths can transform fabrication and design workflows.

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.

Studio Symbiosis is a Stuttgart-based architectural, master planning, and interior design firm that works on projects of all sizes and sectors. The Studio will lecture at the Computational Design: NEXT 14.0 conference about its philosophy to create integrated design solutions that incorporate amalgamated, efficient, robust, and long-lasting designs that result in performative architecture. The practice’s research and intent is to use performance as a design driver to achieve Sustainable and Smart buildings. This integration of performance-based aesthetics can be found all around us in nature. Nature has tested and evolved these systems through an iterative process to produce robust and elegant design solutions. The complexity of the various subsystems is selectively articulated to generate the final design solution. The practice believes that intelligent design solutions driven by performance are possible using computational tools.