07.10.2019 - 07.19.2019

Hosted at The Cooper Union in New York City. Application Deadline: 06.15.2019.
Our cities have undergone shifts that even a decade ago were unthinkable, and one of the biggest challenges for architects today is to plan for rapid advancements in technology and the changes these innovations have on society. In response to this, this Visiting School will explore emerging possibilities in advanced architectural design and urban futures, exposing students to both professional expertise and the utilization of new technologies capable of blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres of what will encompass new conceptions on aspects of the city. This endeavor not only hopes to reveal a glimpse of what the city could be, but also initiate discourse that can destabilize dominant thinking and offer future urban solutions to the changing landscapes of our metropolises around the world.

Digital Platforms

The programme will focus on digital and scripted design methodologies, realised through digital representation and fabrication techniques. Focused on the utilization of Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, Python, and Maya, each invited tutor will be introducing their own advanced methods of working within these platforms for a diversity of design outcomes and an exposure for participants in each group to differentiated design methodologies.

Studio Workshop

Each group of students will produce an urban proposal driven by new, advanced computational techniques that will postulate their versions of a future urban outcome driven by technological and urban changes happening today. These proposals can be expressed through renders, animations, diagrammatic representations, and a digitally fabricated model of their proposal to be placed within a larger site context model during the final crit review and future exhibitions of the work.

Lecture Series

Throughout the programme a series of morning presentations and evening public lectures will be presented to the participants on topics relevant to the workshop agenda, offering exposure to a wide range of methodologies and applications used by instructors and guest speakers in their practices. A list of local and international keynote lecturers will present for several evenings on specialised subjects to provide a rich platform for discussions and exchange of ideas.

Site Visits

With its ever‐increasing densification and re‐development, as well as the growing diversity of its cultures, New York is one of the best locations for students to witness an evolving city. AAVS New York will act offer site visits to several prominent buildings that have shaped and influenced urban habitation, and will offer the ability to explore firsthand the dynamic shifts taking place in our cities today.

Closing Presentations

To conclude the programme, a public event will be held to present final group projects and lead into a discussion session covering the programme topics of future urban growth within New York, and the use of computational methodologies to address the issues impacting contemporary urban systems.

Programme Leaders

Local, Regional, and International Contributors to AAVS New York
Ali Farzaneh

Ali Farzaneh

Director

Ali Farzaneh is a designer and architect based in the USA. He attained his PhD in Architectural Design at the Architectural Association (AA) in London with a focus on complex systems in design and their application in generating novel spatial and morphological formations. He has worked at Coop Himmelb(l)au in Vienna and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in Washington DC. He co-directed the AA Aarhus Visiting School in Denmark researching the implications of digital fabrication tools and robotic manufacturing in design and their use in rationalising complex geometries
Andrew Haas

Andrew Haas

Director

Andrew Haas is a New York based designer focused on biologically inspired, computationally driven approaches to design. He received his Master’s in Emerging Technologies & Design at the Architectural Association (AA) in London and his Bachelors of Science at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. He has professional experience at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA); Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); and is currently with Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF) as a Computational Designer in New York. He has taught internationally, including at the Architectural Association, Hong Kong University, and Tsinghua University, among others. He is a Fellow at the Urban Design Forum, an Emerging Leader for the Regional Plan Association, an Executive Steering Committee member of Emerging New York Architects, and Founder of the New York Digital Design Community, a forum dedicated to advancements in design through technology.

Jan Klaška

Jan Klaška

Studio Instructor

Jan Klaška is a New York based licensed Architect from the Czech Republic and holds a Master of Architecture and Urban Design Degree from the Technical University in Prague. His focus lays in advanced computation design and methods, specifically in the advanced development of form and rationalisation of complex geometry. Jan has worked internationally for several high-profile firms, in Prague, Vienna and most recently in London for Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA). Since joining ZHA in 2013, Jan has collaborated on variety of commissions and competitions, ranging from interior urban design, sport venues, cultural projects, and residential and office buildings. He is currently working on international bridge design, which he has been involved with from its design inception to final design stages.
Angela Huang

Angela Huang

Studio Instructor

Angela Huang is a New York based Architectural Designer. She received her Master’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania where she was the recipient of the Arthur Spayd Brooke Memorial Prize for exceptional work in Architecture Education as well as the prestigious Studio Prize by Architect Magazine in 2017. She has had the opportunity to work at globally recognized design offices such as UNStudio in Amsterdam, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) in London, and currently with Skidmore Owings and Merrill in New York, where she has worked on multiple high profile international tower projects. She is co-teaching at the University of Pennsylvania in the Advance Architectural Design program and the Master of Architecture program, in the third year Design Research Studio. Her work focusses on aesthetics in Architecture and advanced digital design techniques. She has undertaken numerous architectural competitions, including the Lixil International competition, in which she was a finalist. Additionally, in 2018 her work was exhibited at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.

Ramon Weber

Ramon Weber

Studio Instructor

Ramon Weber is a Research Assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Media Lab in the Mediated Matter Group. Working with experimental fabrication platforms and digital building technologies he is investigating how computational design and robotics can impact future architecture. He received his master’s degree in Integrative Technologies and Architectural Design Research with distinction from the University of Stuttgart and holds a bachelor’s in architecture from ETH Zurich, where he conducted research at the Block Research Group, the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD), the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) and was a designer at the lightweight composite construction company FibR. He previously worked for Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) in London, where he was involved in projects across all scales and design research in the in-house ZHA|CODE research group.

Paul Clemens Bart

Paul Clemens Bart

Studio Instructor

Paul Clemens Bart is a German architect, designer and educator, currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Paul holds a M.Sc (Dipl. Ing. eqv) from Technical University Munich and a M.Arch from the Design Research Lab at the Architectural Association in London. His ongoing research and design ambitions are focused on emergent technologies and digital methodologies and their application in performance-orientated, mobile and ecological building systems. He has been a frequently invited speaker and teaching instructor at UCL Bartlett London, Universidad International SEK Quito and TU Munich and international institutions like DETAIL Magazine and Ars Electronica Linz. His work has been widely published, patented and exhibited, including the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, the 13th Architectural Biennale in Venice and the Nesta Future Fest London. It has been featured by major architectural media, such as WIRED, Financial Times, ArchDaily and Autodesk Redshift. Paul is co-founder of the design and research collaborative BART//BRATKE working at the intersection between new mobility and urban futures. Previously he has been holding leading industry and academic positions at Zaha Hadid Architects in London, L.A.V.A. Asia-Pacific and Berlin, and the German Institute for Science and Technology in Singapore.
Jason Danforth

Jason Danforth

Masterclass Instructor

Jason Danforth is a computational designer and member of the KPF Urban Interface team. Working at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, and technology, Jason’s recent work includes a computational urban design methodology for large-scale master planning, machine learning workflows for managing large design spaces, and leading the development of a cloud-based platform for distributing simulations across virtual machines on Amazon Web Services. Jason earned his Master of Architecture from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, receiving the Henry Adams Medal, the GSAPP Visualization Award, and a William Kinne Fellows Traveling Prize. Jason is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University’s GSAPP, and a Guest Lecturer at the Syracuse University School of Architecture.

Presenters + Discussion Panelists

Throughout the programme a series of morning and evening lectures will be presented to the participants on topics relevant to the workshop agenda, offering exposure to a wide range of methodologies and applications used by tutors and guest speakers in their practices, and providing a rich platform for discussions and exchange of ideas. Presenters and Speakers to be announced shortly.

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