Design-Tech Talk 9.0

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.

Head of Studies / USL Director / MUPD (formerly MaCT) Co-Director (she/her) Mathilde Marengo is an Australian–French–Italian PhD Architect whose research focuses on enabling spatial justice in cities by leveraging advanced technologies to bridge data gaps and enable designers and decision makers to leverage these and integrate the perspectives of all, both humans and more than humans, into urban planning towards the development of evidence-based, inclusive, and just urban futures. She is Head of Studies, Faculty and PhD Supervisor at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), researching, designing, and experimenting with innovative educational formats based on holistic, multi-disciplinary and multi-scalar design approaches, redefining the paradigm of design education within the context of the climate crisis, rapid technological development and planetary urbanisation. At IAAC, she also directs the Urban Sciences Lab (USL), a research group that enhances the creative practice of urban design through data-driven methodologies. The USL explores urban design intelligence within the contexts of urban ecologies and regenerative landscapes; urban communities and public space; and urban analytics and spatial justice, pioneering the transition of the urban environment in the era of big data. As part of her work in the USL, she co-directs IAAC’s Master's in Advanced Urban Planning & Data Analytics. Her investigation is also actuated through her role in several National and EU-funded research projects, as well as being published and exhibited internationally.