Design-Tech Talk 5.0

Cristina Nan is an Assistant Professor in the Unit of Architectural Design and Engineering (ADE) within the Department of the Built Environment at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands. She earned her PhD magna cum laude from HafenCity University in Hamburg, Germany, in 2015, focusing on architectural robotics and the digital transformation in architecture.

​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 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 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 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 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 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.