Robert Stuart Smith is a Design Director and a Founding Partner of Kokkugia (www.kokkugia.com). He holds a Masters Degree from the Design Research Laboratory (AA.DRL), where hes is now a Studio Course Master. He has taught at RMIT University, the University of East London, and is an internationally invited lecturer and critic. Robert has extensive experience in cultural, commercial and infrastructural projects, working for Lab Architecture Studio and Sir Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners. Robert’s research focuses on self-organisational systems and developmental growth, pursuing polyvalent and environmentally responsive affect. He leads Kokkugia’s consultation to Cecil Balmond on non-linear algorithmic design research. Kokkugia operates through design, research, consultancy and teaching, has projects in the USA, UK and Mexico, and is exhibited and published internationally.
Lawrence Friesen studied at Dalhousie University, Canada, and worked at a number of architectural practices before setting up the Design Geometry studio at Buro Happold Engineers. In the past nine years he has been involved in a number of complex projects whose innovative realisation entailed digital fabrication. Architectural forms are designed, engineered and realised through a digital design process to engage with simulation software. Forms are translated into a material design process that is true to the intent of the design but have a spatial and material awareness that enhances the design realisation. Currently he is a studio tutor at the AA graduate masters program Design Research Lab (DRL).
Toru Hasegawa has worked as an architect in New York City and Tokyo, where past work included architectural design for residential clients. Since founding Proxy in 2006 with Mark Collins, Toru has worked to explore potentials within the computational paradigm for a range of clients, from individuals to institutions. Working alongside Mark, Toru provides expertise in the service of both design and realization. Toru is also an adjunct assistant faculty member at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and co-directs GSAPP Cloud Lab, where he teaches advanced design studios and seminars on building construction technology and spatial computing.
Stella Dourtme is a UK Registered Architect and holds a Post-Professional Masters in Architecture and Urbanism from the Architectural Association School of Architecture’s Design Research Laboratory. She has worked on a range of architectural and urban projects for the international practices of Will Alsop and Kokkugia. Stella’s research investigates the incorporation of physical constraints within generative design methodologies. Her Masters thesis project “Digital Plaster” developed computational design techniques for fabric formwork patterns that enabled the integration of fabrication constraints within the architectural design process. She has published and presented the work at international conferences such as ENHSA EAAE in Crete 2011.
Anne Save de Beaurecueil and Franklin Lee (www.subdv.com) use computation to generate environmentally responsive geometries for architecture and urban design projects worldwide. They previously taught at the Pratt Institute in New York, and received Master’s Degrees from Columbia University. They have published, exhibited and lectured about their work worldwide, including the Beijing Biennale, the Rotterdam Biennale, the Athens Synthasoris Exhibition, the London Festival of Architecture, and the Festival of Electronic Language (FILE) in São Paulo. The work of AA Diploma Unit 2 has been featured in AD, ArchiCree, and the AA Agendas 7 Articulated Grounds: Mediating Environment and Culture publication.
Lívia Diniz is a member of the Samba School for Kids Pimpolhos da Grande Rio’s artistic team and works with Art Direction for films, theater and events. Lívia studied at the Fine Arts School at Rio de Janeiro’s Federal University and develops costume and scenography projects combining carnival esthetics with visual arts, reused materials, social approaches and technology.
Victor Sardenberg works at SUBdV (SUBdV.com) and is currently a fourth year student at the Instituto Presbiteriano Mackenzie, is member of the research group Teo.Pro (Theory and Project in Digital Era) and of the artistic ensemble EPICAC Tropical. His activities are between architecture, arts, sound installations and computation.
Julio Radesca (julioradesca.com) graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven (The Netherlands) in 2009. He specialized in furniture design and adopted a material-based design approach negotiating between computational strategies and craftsmanship. His graduation project “Personal Fresh Air” was shown in the Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2010 in Milan. He is currently working at SUBdV (subdv.com).
