Fall PD Series | Designing for Today: Design Systems, Intelligence and Smart Construction

In the era of unprecedented demand on construction, technological advancements, climate emergency, and social stressors, architects and designers play a crucial role in constructing resilient cities responsive to the multiple forces at play. The first section of this presentation will explore the holistic design process and systems thinking that guides project design and delivery, from the pre-design phase to post-occupancy, where technology, the flow of data and the integrity of systems create intelligence throughout the design and construction process.
The second section of this presentation will examine a series of project examples and research endeavours to demonstrate the successful implementation of systems thinking strategies for early-stage design alternatives with high-performance targets, using generative design optimizations and data-driven decision-making tools based on analysis, simulation, and data generation through an iterative computational design process.

Presenters: Mohamed Imam Ph.D., CPHD, LEED AP BD+C, Mahdiar Ghaffarian, Elton Gjata, Cheney Chen
Mohamed holds a Ph.D. in Resource Generative Architecture from the University of Calgary, and an M.Sc. in Sustainable Buildings: Performance and Design from Oxford Brookes University. Currently, he is a designer and researcher at Perkins&Will. The scope of his area of research includes machine learning, performance-based computation and design, and multi-objective optimization to support data-driven decision-making.

Mahdiar is a practicing designer, researcher, and educator, and is passionate about advancing the field of architecture through research and technology by exploring ways of bridging the gap between architectural research and practice. As the Director of Perkins & Will’s Building Technology Lab, and Lead Researcher at the Design Process Lab, Mahdiar has led a wide range of innovative research and design projects such as implementing emerging design and construction technology to rethink the design-to-construction processes, architectural robotic fabrication, and research-based 3D printed buildings. Furthermore, Mahdiar’s interest in data analysis and design computation has driven him to work on complex and generative design tools.

More bios coming soon.

Date: October 12, 2022
Time: 12 – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Online
Learning Units (LUs): 1.5 Core
Registration: Register by October 10