Computational Design: NEXT 8.0

Filippo Nassetti is an artist and computational designer. The research agenda he advances, Postnatural Design, focuses on exploring the visual languages and project opportunities that emerge from challenging traditional oppositions such as natural and artificial, digital and material, human and non-human. Working between scales and crossing disciplines such as architecture, product, and landscape design relates to research on organic form, computational methods, new media, and advanced manufacturing technologies. Soon after graduating in Architecture, Filippo started operating independently, and throughout the years, the practice engaged with a broad portfolio of projects that included commissions, grants, research activities, and consultancy. In 2012, he co-founded MHOX, an EU-funded research practice and start-up focused on the design of radical artifacts and wearable products through computational techniques and 3d printing. The contribution of MHOX to generative design gained international recognition through many experimental projects, such as Collagen, Carapace and Superabundance Masks, Generative Orthoses, ENEA walking sticks, and the design of prostheses. In 2015, Filippo joined Zaha Hadid Architects, initially as part of the Computation and Design team (ZH CODE), then of Zaha Hadid Design (ZHD), where he was responsible for computational design.

In the eight years he was part of the practice, he led and completed several ZHD projects where computation played a central role. These experiences ranged from the design of both sculptural and functional products to experimental installations, projection mappings, and interior designs. Since 2016, he has taught at UCL at the Bartlett School of Architecture as part of the MArch Urban Design, a postgraduate program focused on computational design, co-leading the Research Cluster 16 through a research-based teaching methodology. Filippo’s independent work has been published and exhibited internationally. He lectured at The Royal College of Arts (London), China Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing), and Florida International University (Miami), among others; exhibited at Centre Pompidou (Paris), Design Museum (London), Bozar Centre (Bruxelles); his work was featured on The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Dezeen, Designboom, Wired Italia.

Based in Alicante, Spain, Bryan Garcia is a British architectural designer with a strong focus on parametric design. Over the past three years, he has developed a deep expertise in computational techniques, working extensively as a geometric specialist for architectural projects spanning diverse scales and disciplines.

Bryan’s practice bridges preliminary design phases with advanced consultancy for multidisciplinary studios, bringing an innovative approach to parametric design that combines aesthetic exploration with geometric precision. His work is marked by a commitment to pushing the boundaries of design, emphasizing singularity, scale, and suggestive form in every project. He has taught and exhibited locally and internationally, sharing his knowledge and advancing the discourse on parametric methodologies.

Bryan’s educational contributions include seminars, webinars, and workshops designed to inspire architects and designers, offering a glimpse into the creative and practical potential of computational design. With a strong presence on social media, Bryan has cultivated a following of over 70,000, using his platforms to share his work and promote learning through open access and imitation. He demonstrates the versatility of parametric design as both an architectural and graphic design tool, showcasing its potential to transform creative practice across disciplines. Bryan’s dedication to advancing computational design continues to shape his role as a designer and educator, driving innovation and exploring the intersection of technology, art, and architecture.

Eva Blsakova, architect and interdisciplinary designer, will be delivering a Grasshopper 3D workflow at the Computational Design: NEXT 8.0 conference. Eva specializes in multidisciplinary interaction and multimedia communication through architecture and computational design. She has gained her Master’s Degree in Architecture from Vienna’s University of Applied Arts. She obtained a Fab Diploma at Fab Academy in IAAC Fab Lab in Barcelona because of her love for innovation, digital fabrication, and fast prototyping.

In addition to operating her practice, she currently works at Coop Himmelb(l)au. She created arx.ace, an online training platform for creative architectural and design concepts. Previously, she got expertise in various architectural firms such as Bollinger+Grohmann.

Mihai Dragos Potra, the designer at Zaha Hadid Architects, will be offering Cinema4D workflow to the participants at the Computational Design: NEXT 8.0 conference. Mihai is a digital designer who explores digital landscapes and merges textures into abstract environments. Since 2019, he has been involved in various projects of all scales at Zaha Hadid Architects. His interest in understanding the complexity within the digital and physical environments leads to his passion for design research, art, and science. He has been a tutor in several workshops and has participated twice in the Venice Biennale for the Antarctic Pavilion in 2014 and 2016. His design style synthesizes morphological exploration in both stillness and motion and visual variations of digital grounds.

Dr. Nic Dingwen Bao is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Architecture Technology Course Coordinator, and PhD supervisor at the School of Architecture and Urban Design, RMIT University, where he founded the FormX Research Lab. His research focuses on computational design, artificial intelligence, structural optimisation, robotic fabrication, and intelligent construction for performance-driven architecture.

Nic is a practising architect with over 12 years of professional experience and is a Registered Architect in Australia (ARBV) and the US (NCARB), and RIBA Chartered Architect in the UK. He is the Director of BW Architects (BWA) and a partner at Ameba Technology. He also serves as Secretary of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) and the DigitalFUTURES Association.

His work has been widely exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, Shenzhen Biennale, DigitalFUTURES, IASS Expo, and Melbourne Design Week. He is also a core member of the organising committee of the IASS 2023 Annual Symposium in Melbourne, curator of the IASS 2023 Expo and ACADIA × CAADRIA joint exhibition, and co-chair of the Computational Design and Robotic Fabrication International Conference 2026.

Behnaz Farahi, designer and creative technologist, will be addressing the audience at the Computational Design: NEXT 8.0 conference with the emerging technologies to develop an empathetic interaction between the human body and the surrounding environment. She explores topics such as feminism, emotion, physiological perception, and social interaction through natural inspirations to apply morphological and behavioral principles in her work.

She has graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts with a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Media Arts and Practice. Computational design, interactive technologies, additive manufacturing, and digital fabrication technologies are among her areas of expertise. Additionally, she has received numerous awards, including the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Digital Design Award, the Fast Company Innovation By Design Linda Tischler Award, the World Technology Award (WTN), and the BASA and Madworkshop Grants, as well as the Rock Hudson Fellowship.

Stephen Melville, the founding director of Format Engineers, will be addressing digital optimization and fabrication at the Computational Design: NEXT 8.0 conference. He founded Format in 2014 as an engineering design studio that bridges the worlds of science, art, architecture, and design. The company’s mission is to apply creativity to structural design, and it contains engineers, programmers, mathematicians, and architects with backgrounds in structural engineering, coding, and architecture.

Stephen was also an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes School of Architecture, and he gives lectures and critiques at architecture schools across the world. He has authored several publications in engineering and architecture on the issue of digital design. He has served on the Bristol Urban Design Forum, the visiting RIBA education panel, and the RIBA awards panel in 2013.

August Lehrecke, the co-founder of Pneuhaus, will be focusing on Pneuhaus’s inflatable works at the Computational Design: NEXT 8.0 conference. Pneuhaus is an art and design studio working within the fields of spatial design, temporary structures, and contemporary art. Pneuhaus’ work is focused mainly on the craft of pneumatics, where they employ a combination of physical and digital modeling approaches to build their designs in-house. August is especially interested in developing computational tools, form-finding methodologies, and simulation methods that link innovation and manufacture. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design his Master’s degree from the University of Stuttgart’s ITECH program in 2021.

Kostika Spaho, the co-founder of Ica & Kostika, an innovative design studio focusing on the intersection of footwear and technology, will provide a captivating presentation at the Computational Design: NEXT 8.0 conference. The studio is a 3d-printed high heels company founded by designers Ica Paru and Kostika Spaho, benefiting from a combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing techniques and focusing on computational innovation while highlighting bespoke made-to-order manufacture. “Exobiology,” the 3D-printed footwear collection by Ica & Kostika, includes a wide range of bold shoes, all of which are precisely crafted to fit the natural shape of the foot.Kostika mainly focuses on using 3D tools to digitize physical objects and mentoring cross-functional partners to incorporate such systems into their departments. He previously worked as a 3D Specialist at Coach, now owned by Tapestry, and as the Digital Transformation Lead for KEEN footwear.

Öznur Pınar ÇER is a Turkish lead architect who received her first-place honors from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Cyprus International University while graduating in 2014. She has led award-winning international competitions such as the “Oasys+System” artificial breathing modular palm structure system, one of ten winners in the “Cool Abu Dhabi Challenge” competition with 1,540 competitors. As one of three finalists, the same project was awarded A+Architizer 2021 in the United States and Golden Trezzini Awards 2021 in Russia. Her office is the first architecture and design firm globally that uses a steel 3D-printed “exoskeleton” construction system to distribute all of the building’s functional aspects, using a unique construction process called “EXOSTEEL.”.

Danilo PETTA is an award-winning Italian industrial designer who attended the Polytechnic of Milan and the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan to study architecture and interior design. He started his multidisciplinary career as a “Watches Designer” at Rome’s “Bvlgari” design center. He was responsible for creating “Serpenti Tubogas,” and many other successful clocks for the company. The Chicago Athenaeum Museum named him “Europe 40 Under 40 ®” as one of the most original and modern young talents in the field of watch and luxury design worldwide, and the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic named him as one of the 100 Design Ambassadors representing Italian Creativity in the World in 2021.

Biayna Bogosian, the Assistant Professor of Architectural Technology at Florida International University, will be offering an intriguing lecture at the Computational Design: NEXT 8.0 conference. Architecture, computational design, environmental design, data science, spatial computing, and media arts are among Biayna’s academic and professional interests. Through interdisciplinary research, she was able to explore the technological innovation in design, such as data-driven and citizen-centric solutions to enhance the built environment.  Currently, she is a Ph.D. student at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she studies Interdisciplinary Media Arts and Practice. She focuses on the function of immersive and locative media in participatory urban environmental literacy and policymaking in her dissertation. Additionally, she possesses a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University, where she taught until 2018. She was serving on the Board of Directors of the ACADIA Organization and co-chaired the ACADIA 2021 Conference and CAAD Futures 2021 Conference.

Alvin Huang, the award-winning Los Angeles-based architect, designer, and educator, will delve into the intersections between technology and culture at the Computational Design: NEXT 8.0 conference. He provides projects ranging from high-rise buildings and mixed-use complexes to temporary pavilions and bespoke furniture. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Southern California and the founder and principal of Synthesis Design + Architecture. He also serves as the Director of Graduate and Post-Professional Architecture at the university. He got substantial experience working in Zaha Hadid Architects, Future Systems, AL-A, and AECOM before founding SDA. His work has been widely published and exhibited. He has received over 40 awards at the local, national, and international levels, including being named one of Images Publishing’s 50 global innovators under the age of 50 in 2015, being featured as a “Next Progressive” by Architect Magazine in 2014, and being named one of Time Magazine’s 25 Best Inventors of 2013.

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.