The 21st Century Architect
In light of technology's heavy-handed influence on design culture, let’s delve into the role of AI knowledge and collective thinking, discussing the opportunities, risks, and concerns of AI.
The Augmented & Empathetic Architect
Starting with Douglas Engelbart's introduction of the "augmented architect" in 1962, through the promises of design computation in the 2000's, to today's role of computational specialist, we're seeing a slow democratization of a lingua franca for the design process. Despite this progression we've yet to realize systemic change in our practices, and even a bit of fear of where this will go. Through topics like adversarial interoperability, protocols as hubs, software commoditization, critiques of popular discussions around generative design, and more importantly human experience and creativity, we'll find our way to discussing what it takes to help manifest the augmented and empathetic architect.
Increase the Impact of Digital Culture
A podcast interview with me about the impact of digital culture, hosted by the team at Monograph.
Medium / Process / Product
Video from my talk at the AIA NY Center for Architecture in Fall of 2019, as part of a conference entitled “Re-imaging Practice through Data”
The Long Game
Video of my presentation from Autodesk University 2017 called “The Long Game – Maintaining Interoperable Workflows Through Multiple Phases”
This presentation is a focus on the innovative automation and interoperability workflows used by the Woods Bagot team on The Eleventh, a collaboration with BIG Architects and WSP for a residential building along the High Line in New York City.
From Static to Dynamic
Video from my presentation at the Construction Innovation 2017 Forum, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) on September 14-15.
Sketch, Prototype, Experience
Video from my presentation at the AEC Technology Symposium in 2014.
BIM, computation, robotic fabrication, drones, mobile sensing and weak AI. Despite all the advances in design and construction technologies in the past 10 years, we remain a profession stuck designing and erecting buildings more suited to 20th century social experiences. Our data still becomes concrete; we have yet to come to grips with the dematerialization and new social models that emerge from a combined physical and digital experience. It is time to transcend the viewpoints of the technician and the techno-aesthete, rescue our profession from rapidly approaching obsolescence, and look to redefine architecture as the modern field for environmental UX: Infrastructure as Platform.
Natural and Intuitive
My essay from the book “Digital Workflows in Architecture; Design, Assembly, Industry” by Scott Marble about my computation work while at Grimshaw Architects.
The Cedar Hull: EMPAC’s Wooden Instrument
The development of the wood enclosure surrounding EMPAC’s Concert Hall was cutting edge in its processes and use of technology from concept to construction. From the very beginning, references to the geometry of musical instruments guided the development of form and space at EMPAC. This reached its culmination on the curving wood enclosure.