Masoud Akbarzadeh Workshops

Masoud Akbarzadeh, Assistant Professor of Architecture in Structures and Construction Technologies at the University of Pennsylvania and Director at Polyhedral Structures Laboratory, will showcase his amazing research and practice projects in a 45-minute lecture followed by a 15-minute Q&A session at the upcoming conference Computational Design: NEXT 11. Masoud Akbarzadeh is a designer with academic background and experience in architectural design, computation, and structural engineering. He holds a D.Sc. from the Institute of Technology in Architecture, ETH Zurich, where he was a research assistant in the Block Research Group. In addition, he has two degrees from MIT: a Master of Science in Architecture Studies (Computation) and a MArch, the thesis for which earned him the renowned SOM award. He also has a degree in Earthquake Engineering and Dynamics of Structures from the Iran University of Science and Technology and a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His main research topic is Three-Dimensional Graphical Statics, a novel geometric method of structural design in three dimensions. In 2020, he received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award to extend the methods of 3D/Polyhedral Graphic Statics for Education, Design, and Optimization of High-Performance Structures. He is also a Co-PI in a $4.6 million grant funded by National Science Foundation to investigate high-performance, self-Morphing building blocks across scales toward a Sustainable Future. Has also received a $2.4 Million ARPA-E Grant to Research the Design of Carbon-Negative Buildings starting September 2022.