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.

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.

Award-winning architect Melike Altinisik will give a lecture at the opening of the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference about her experiences, recent projects, and the integration of BIM and computational design with architecture and construction. She’s a designer and educator dedicated to developing an innovative approach toward architecture, urbanism, and design. Her work aims to develop the relational thinking capacities of architecture about design technologies.Since 2006, she has developed her wide range of international professional architectural experience by working on large-scale projects, from high-rise buildings, masterplans, cultural centers, and museums to bespoke furniture designs. Her design work has received several prestigious design awards, including Europe 40 under 40, FEIDAD Design Award 07′, and Swiss Art Award.She participated in various national and international and invited architectural competitions, exhibitions, and publications. Her work includes prize-winning projects such as Istanbul TV and Radio Tower (Istanbul, Turkey, Under construction) and the Robot Science Museum (Seoul, South Korea). Before forming her practice in Istanbul, she worked in London as a Lead Architect with Zaha Hadid Architects (2006- 2013).In addition to her professional architectural practice, she has been an invited critic, guest lecturer, speaker, and jury member at various institutions, such as AA (Architectural Association, London), SAC (Staedelschule of Architecture, Frankfurt), LAU (Lebanese American University, Beirut), ITU (Istanbul Technical University), and BU (Bilgi University, Istanbul).Melike Altinisik received a Master of Architecture and Urbanism from the Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory, AADRL (2006) in London and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Istanbul Technical University, ITU (2003) in Istanbul with High Honours.

Xavier De Kestelier, architect and technologist with a passion for human space exploration to make a speech at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference about the Human Habitats on other planets, and architecture on Mars. Xavier was educated in Belgium and the United Kingdom and holds an BArch and MSc in Architectural Engineering form the University of Ghent and an MSc Urban Design from The Bartlett School of Architecture. He previously co-headed the Specialist Modelling Group at Foster+Partners. Where his team specialised in computational design and digital fabrication.Besides his role in the SMG, Xavier was also responsible for the implementation of rapid prototyping technology within the offices of Foster+Partners. He has also initiated and overseen several funded research projects for F+P. He specialised in the field of large scale 3D printing and worked with NASA and the European Space Agency on 3D printed Moon and Mars habitats. Xavier is currently the Global Head of Design Technology and Innovation at Hassell Studio where he leads design technology across all disciplines and regions.He is also director of Smartgeometry which is a not for profit organisation that organises a yearly international conference and workshop around digital design and fabrication. Xavier has held academic positions at the University of Ghent, Syracuse University and The Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) and is currently member of the RIBA. Specialties: Computational Design, Rapid Prototyping, Parametric Design, Digital Fabrication

Alice Labourel, architect, digital artist, and educator, will instruct a Cinema 4D workflow for about 90 minutes at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference. Alice is creative, curious, and passionate in Arts, Animation, and Architecture. After working for Sir Peter Cook and Will Alsop as an architect, she started a career as a freelance Art Director and Digital Artist for Architecture companies and TV Productions Studios. She specialized in storytelling and in the delivery of strong digital artworks, mixing various tools such as photography, Cinema4D with X particles, Maya, Photoshop, or hand drawing. She teaches workshops about conceptualization and architectural visualization.

Eric Goldemberg, architect and a principal designer at Monad Studio, to give a lecture at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference. Erick is an architect, with a professional degree from the University of Buenos Aires and a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University, New York. He worked for Peter Eisenman as Senior Designer for the City of Culture of Galicia, Spain as well as heading design teams in several competitions. He was also Project Architect for Asymptote Architecture (Hani Rashid & Lise Anne Couture) on projects in Malaysia, The Netherlands and the Guggenheim Museum in Guadalajara, Mexico. In Buenos Aires he collaborated with Clorindo Testa and Estudio STAFF – the latter founded by his parents Jorge Jose Goldemberg and Teresa BIelus, with over 2,000,000 m2 of social housing projects built in South America.Eric Goldemberg is Associate Professor and Digital Design Coordinator at Florida International University in Miami where he teaches graduate studios and advanced digital design and fabrication courses. Previously he taught at Pratt Institute, Columbia University, New York Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and University of Buenos Aires.

Antoine Maes, architect and lead computational designer at A2M architecture, will demonstrate a Grasshopper 3D workflow for about 90 minutes at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference. Anoine is a Grasshopper teacher for architecture offices and a lecturer at the University of Liège. In the community, he’s better known for his animations and for co-developing the Tapeworm plugin for Grasshopper.

Andrew Heumann, educator and software developer at Hypar, will give an oration to the audience at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference. Before joining Hypar, Andrew was a Senior Researcher at WeWork, a Design Technology Specialist at Woods Bagot, and the leader of NBBJ’s Design Computation team. He has written over 20 plug-ins for 3D modeling software like Rhino and Revit, including the popular “Human” and “Human UI” plug-ins for Grasshopper. He has created many bespoke tools for design teams and practices, aiding in managing project metrics, environmental and urban analysis, and facade design.

Daniela Mitterberger is an architect and researcher with a strong interest in new media, the relationship between Human/Body within Digital Fabrication and Emerging Technologies. Currently, she is a Ph.D. researcher and A&T Ph.D. Fellow at the Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication (Prof. Fabio Gramazio, Prof. Matthias Kohler) focusing on intuition in digital design and robotic fabrication.

Tiziano Derme is an Architect, researcher, and media Artist interested in the relationship between different media, materials, and performativity. Tiziano is an Assistant Professor and researcher at the University of Innsbruck, focusing on Autonomous and Robotic Interaction, and a fellow emergent media Artist for the EMAP Creative Europe program 2019.

Marvin Bratke, German architect, entrepreneur, and founding partner of spatial innovation studio URBAN BETA (www.urban-beta.de) and the architecture office BART//BRATKE (www.bartbratke.com) will be giving a lecture at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference.At his studio, Marvin uses participatory methods to create inclusive, unconventional, and transformative spaces through predictive planning. He collaborates on new ways of social inclusion and participatory approaches to co-design, both virtual and physical. Urban Beta’s work aims to enable greater democratization of technology for construction and architecture, focussing on a positive social and ecological footprint.He combines academia with applied research to integrate emerging technologies, innovation, computational models, and predictive planning into one combined, holistic approach. His studio’s research is backed by the Federal Government of Germany, covered by the “Zukunft Bau” (Future Construction) program of the Federal Ministry of Interior Building and Community. The research project BetaHood became a model project to promote the start of the “New European Bauhaus” initiative.

Alan Cation, the New York-based computational designer, artist, and educator, will teach a Grasshopper 3D workflow for about 90 minutes at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference. His work focuses on parametric architecture, complex geometry, sustainability, and simulating how natural behavioral systems interact with each other and their environments. Alan utilizes his generative and computational design expertise to take an experimental approach to the design process, where he imagines speculative futures and incorporates advanced digital fabrication technologies to realize complexity.Alan received a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from Southern Illinois University and a Master of Architecture from California College of the Arts, where he focused on digital craft, robotics, 3d printing, and computation. Afterward, he completed an Artist in Residence at Autodesk Pier 9, developing large-scale concrete 3d printing technology. His work has been widely published for methods in computational design and robotic 3d printing.Alan teaches Computational Design courses at The City College of New York and has taught computation and 3D printing workshops internationally for institutions like TU Delft and ETH Zurich. He is currently an Associate and computational Design Specialist at Ennead Architects in NYC. There, he leads various computational design initiatives while developing design tools and custom software for delivering high-performance architecture.

Tom Svilans, architectural designer, design consultant, and researcher, will give a lecture at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference about his explorations on the intersection of fabrication, materiality, and emerging technologies. Tom is currently a postdoctoral researcher at CITA (Centre for IT and Architecture) in Copenhagen, Denmark. His research focuses on digital design across the timber value chain – from forestry to construction – and methods of integrating new imaging and information-communication technologies in the design and fabrication of engineered timber elements.Tom holds a PhD from the Royal Danish Academy, part of the EU-funded InnoChain research network. The PhD develops a digitally augmented material practice for the design and manufacture of large-scale free-form timber structures. It was supported by close collaborations with leading Swiss timber contractor Blumer Lehmann AG and multidisciplinary Scandinavian architecture practice White Arkitekter. Tom has presented and published his work internationally. He has taught, presented, or been a guest critic at, among other places, the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, the Architectural Association (AA), the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), and the Royal Danish Academy.

Platt Boyd, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Chattanooga based construction and technology company, Branch Technology, to give an address about how to build sustainably and efficiently through the development of hardware, software, pre-fabrication innovations, and solution-driven products at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference.Platt is an experienced and award-winning architect with a track record of success and innovation. His frustration with the design and economic constraints imposed by traditional building techniques, fascination with the natural world and interest in both 3D printing and robotics led him to found Branch Technology and challenge the status quo.