Courses Conferences Design-Tech Talk 5.0

Design-Tech Talk 5.0

Name: Design-Tech Talk 5.0
Price: 30.00 EUR

Design-Tech Talk 5.0 features expert-led presentations and a dynamic discussion on the latest advancements and emerging technologies.

Member-Only

Overview
Content
Speakers
Reviews

Date:

May 31 - Jun 1, 2025

Duration:

6 Hours

Difficulty:

Beginner

Language:

English

Certificate:

Yes

Registration:

€30.00

Members:

25.50 EUR (49.00%) discount

Recordings:

Available Indefinitely

Gift Course

Introduction of the workshop:

Join us for Design-Tech Talk, an exclusive and engaging panel discussion featuring six distinguished experts, each offering unique insights into the latest advancements in architecture, design innovation, and emerging technologies reshaping industries today.

This dynamic event will explore the intersection of these fields, with each expert delivering a one-hour presentation that provides an in-depth look at the transformative potential of architectural design, the role of AI in shaping the future of design, and the groundbreaking capabilities of 3D printing in revolutionizing the way we build and create.

Don’t miss this chance to engage with innovators who are pushing the boundaries of creativity and technology, driving change in architecture, design, and beyond. Whether you're a professional, student, or simply passionate about the future of design, Design-Tech Talk promises to inspire and equip you with the insights needed to navigate the exciting future of these fields.

Program:

Day 1, May 31st:

Opening Session: 15:30-15:40 GMT
1st Speaker: Christopher Robeller 15:40 – 16:40 GMT
2nd Speaker: Alexander Clarke 16:45 - 17:45
3rd Speaker: Gareth Volka 17:45 – 18:05 GMT
Closing Session: 18:05 – 18:20 GMT

Day 2, June 1st:

Opening Session: 14:00-14:15 GMT
1st Speaker: Cristina Nan 14:15 – 15:15 GMT
2nd Speaker: Fredy Fortich 15:30 – 16:30 GMT
3rd Speaker: Stepan Kukharskiy 16:45 – 17:45 GMT
Closing Session: 17:45 – 18:00 GMT

Cristina Nan

Cristina's research interests encompass computational design, digital fabrication—including additive manufacturing and robotics—and the integration of AI in architecture. She has contributed to projects like the Minibuilders at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona, which received international recognition.

Prior to joining TU/e in 2020, Cristina served as an Assistant Professor in Digital Fabrication and Design at the University of Edinburgh's Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture from 2015 to 2020. She also co-founded the Future Fields Think Tank in 2019, reflecting her commitment to exploring the socio-economic, spatial, and environmental implications of emerging technologies in architecture.

Alexander Clarke

Alexander Clarke is a designer and computer scientist from London. His research focuses on biomimetics and human-computer interaction towards the future of fabrication. He currently works as a robotics software engineer at Automated Architecture (AUAR), a London-based startup developing robotic micro-factories towards sustainable housing with timber construction.

He builds highly interactive prototypes that blend art and science, craft and code, working extensively with parametric design tools like Grasshopper and computer vision, mechatronics, and woodworking. He has previously served as Lead Software Architect for a UCL gestural computing research project, exhibited his lighting and sculptural works at various new media art events and exhibitions, built demos for startups, and taught students to code.

Alexander weaves a growing interest in biology and complexity science into his practice. During his Masters at LIS, he used machine learning to develop simulations of self-organizing behaviors in plant leaf development and, more recently, investigated how collectives of arachnids build adaptive, tensile nest structures across vast scales.

Christopher Robeller

Christopher Robeller is a Professor of Digital Design and Production at the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, where he leads the Digital Timber Construction (DTC) working group. The group offers PhD research opportunities in an ideal environment with dedicated DTC laboratory spaces and equipment. Their aim is to make constructions more sustainable through digital methods and technology. Important topics include material-saving lightweight constructions, rapid assembly of wood-wood connections, sustainable types of wood and materials, and the reuse and recycling of components.

Previously, he has worked as a Junior Professor at TU Kaiserslautern, as a Postdoc at the Swiss National Centre of Competence for Digital Fabrication (NCCR dfab) at ETH Zurich, as a PhD assistant at the Timber Construction Laboratory IBOIS at EPFL Lausanne, and as a research associate at the Institute of Computational Design (ICD), University of Stuttgart.

He received a Doctor of Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology EPFL, and a Professional Diploma in Architecture with Distinction from London Metropolitan University.His research has been implemented in projects such as the 2010 ICD/ITKE Pavilion, the 2013 IBOIS Curved Folded Shell, the 2017 Lausanne Vidy Theater, the 2015–2020 Factory Hall in Manternach, the 2019 HexBox Canopy, the 2019 Recycleshell, and the 2021 Chestnut Cabin.

Fredy Fortich

Fredy Fortich is an Architect and Engineer specializing in computational design, with a particular focus on BIM coordination in Revit, performance-based design, generative design, and machine-learning methods.

He holds a Master of Science in Building Technology from TU Delft in the Netherlands and a Master of Architecture from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

Currently, Fredy works as a Technical Architect at MVRDV, BIM Manager at French Studio, and an AI researcher on Diffusion Models.

Stepan Kukharskiy

Stepan is an architect, computational designer, and educator who merges programming with design to create both digital and physical spaces. As co-founder of SA lab, Stepan evolved from visual coding to full-stack development, building web apps, games, and virtual experiences. Over nine years at SA lab.

Stepan led multiple award-winning projects and developed a methodology that combines computational design with digital fabrication to reduce design time and errors. In 2021, he co-founded Kodiia, now an AI-first online sketchbook to help creative professionals integrate AI into their workflows. Stepan teaches coding, computational design, and robotics internationally to creative professionals.

Gareth Volka

Gareth Volka is a London-based architect and fashion designer. His eponymous couture brand explores the intersection of fashion, computation, digital fabrication, materiality, and sustainability, drawing on years of research into topics such as generative algorithms, free-form 3D printing, programmable matter, biomimetic robotics, and biomaterials. His designs often build narratives around nature and sensuality, brought to life through ingenuity and craftsmanship.

Highlights:

Content

Christopher Robeller (01:11:56)

Innovations in Digital Timber Construction

This presentation by Christopher outlines a multi-year exploration of computational design and robotic fabrication techniques for creating sustainable, large-scale timber structures, emphasizing the importance of iterative prototyping and hands-on experimentation in overcoming material and construction challenges.

Alexander Clarke (49:45)

Biomimetic Algorithms for Construction

This presentation by Alexander discusses leveraging biological principles and computational design to develop adaptive, sustainable construction methods, focusing on algorithmic assembly, interactive fabrication, and the integration of digital and physical workflows to innovate building processes.

Gareth Volka (40:52)

Interdisciplinary Design: Fashion, Tech, Architecture

This presentation traces a creative journey through environmental science, computer science, robotics, architecture, and fashion, illustrating how interdisciplinary experimentation with technology, art, and sustainability can break boundaries and inspire innovative design solutions.

Cristina Nan (01:17:11)

Computational Tectonics & Fabrication

This presentation by Christina detailed her computational tectonics approach, covering clay and concrete 3D printing experiments, modular column and facade design for the Caala baths, glazing, firing workflows, AI-assisted design iterations, and full-scale production.

Fredy Fortich (01:08:56)

MVRDV’s AI‐powered design evolution

This presentation by Fredy detailed MVRDV’s AI-driven architectural workflows—tracing the firm’s data-driven history, explaining AI fundamentals, showcasing image-based design techniques (brainstorming, segmentation, materialization), custom tools (Loras, ComfyUI), concluding with future prospects.

Stepan Kukharskiy (01:20:01)

Architect AI Tools for Design

This presentation by Stepan traces his evolution from architect to computational designer, melding Grasshopper, web technologies, robotics, and AI to build custom, agentic software that streamlines both physical and virtual architectural workflows.

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