ENAC Seminar Series by Prof. S. Parascho
Event details
| Date | 04.12.2020 |
| Hour | 16:45 › 17:30 |
| Speaker | Prof. Stefana Parascho |
| Location |
Zoom
Online
|
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
16:45 – 17:30 – Prof. Stefana Parascho
Assistant Professor at Princeton University, USA
Talk title:
Designing with Robots - From Automation to Information
Abstract:
Robotics and digital technologies have been changing the way we perceive architectural design and fabrication. But the question today is no longer “What can we do with a robot?” but “How can we leverage the potential of machines and algorithms to address the needs of our built environment?”.
We can address this question by engaging with robots and algorithms from a different perspective: exploring the role of technology in the design process and finding new ways of information exchange between designer and machine. We know that robots can construct complex geometries and that algorithms can generate unprecedented forms, but how we engage with these new possibilities is what will change the course of architecture. Can we exploit robotic processes to decrease our environmental footprint? Can we empower architects and designers to fully integrate machines into the design process? And can we find ways of communicating technological advancements to designers and architects in order to emancipate them from solely being end-users?
Robots working individually and cooperatively, humans and robots building together, architects designing along with machines – the presented work explores the various relationships between designers, software and hardware, and opens up new questions and avenues for expanding the impact of digital technology onto our built environment. From scaffold-free assembly to robots employed for material reuse and computational tools designed to ease interdisciplinary knowledge exchange – the goal is to move beyond the development of material-specific robotic processes and towards strategies for successfully employing these new technologies in design. Ultimately, this requires the exploration of new roles for machines, new relationships between humans, algorithms and robots, and new connections inside our own and across other disciplines.
Short bio:
Stefana Parascho is a researcher, architect, and educator whose work lies at the intersection of architecture, digital fabrication and computational design. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Princeton University where she founded the CREATE Laboratory Princeton and is co-leading the PhD program in Technology of Princeton’s School of Architecture. Through her research, she has explored multi-robotic fabrication methods and their relationship to architectural design. Stefana investigated computational design techniques ranging from agent-based systems to sequential design and optimisation methods. Her goal is to strengthen the connection between design, structure, and fabrication, and boost the interdisciplinary nature of architecture through the development of accessible computational tools and robotic fabrication methods. Her work was published in peer-reviewed publications and arts and architecture magazines (Kunst+Architektur, Architectural Design, and Princeton’s Pidgin magazine), and exhibited internationally at the Milan Design Week and the “Anatomy of Structure” exhibition in London. Stefana completed her doctorate in 2019 at ETH Zurich, Gramazio Kohler Research, with the thesis “Cooperative Robotic Assembly”, co-advised by Prof. Stelian Coros. Previously, she received her Diploma in Architectural Engineering in 2012 from the University of Stuttgart and worked with DesignToProduction Stuttgart and Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering.
Assistant Professor at Princeton University, USA
Talk title:
Designing with Robots - From Automation to Information
Abstract:
Robotics and digital technologies have been changing the way we perceive architectural design and fabrication. But the question today is no longer “What can we do with a robot?” but “How can we leverage the potential of machines and algorithms to address the needs of our built environment?”.
We can address this question by engaging with robots and algorithms from a different perspective: exploring the role of technology in the design process and finding new ways of information exchange between designer and machine. We know that robots can construct complex geometries and that algorithms can generate unprecedented forms, but how we engage with these new possibilities is what will change the course of architecture. Can we exploit robotic processes to decrease our environmental footprint? Can we empower architects and designers to fully integrate machines into the design process? And can we find ways of communicating technological advancements to designers and architects in order to emancipate them from solely being end-users?
Robots working individually and cooperatively, humans and robots building together, architects designing along with machines – the presented work explores the various relationships between designers, software and hardware, and opens up new questions and avenues for expanding the impact of digital technology onto our built environment. From scaffold-free assembly to robots employed for material reuse and computational tools designed to ease interdisciplinary knowledge exchange – the goal is to move beyond the development of material-specific robotic processes and towards strategies for successfully employing these new technologies in design. Ultimately, this requires the exploration of new roles for machines, new relationships between humans, algorithms and robots, and new connections inside our own and across other disciplines.
Short bio:
Stefana Parascho is a researcher, architect, and educator whose work lies at the intersection of architecture, digital fabrication and computational design. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Princeton University where she founded the CREATE Laboratory Princeton and is co-leading the PhD program in Technology of Princeton’s School of Architecture. Through her research, she has explored multi-robotic fabrication methods and their relationship to architectural design. Stefana investigated computational design techniques ranging from agent-based systems to sequential design and optimisation methods. Her goal is to strengthen the connection between design, structure, and fabrication, and boost the interdisciplinary nature of architecture through the development of accessible computational tools and robotic fabrication methods. Her work was published in peer-reviewed publications and arts and architecture magazines (Kunst+Architektur, Architectural Design, and Princeton’s Pidgin magazine), and exhibited internationally at the Milan Design Week and the “Anatomy of Structure” exhibition in London. Stefana completed her doctorate in 2019 at ETH Zurich, Gramazio Kohler Research, with the thesis “Cooperative Robotic Assembly”, co-advised by Prof. Stelian Coros. Previously, she received her Diploma in Architectural Engineering in 2012 from the University of Stuttgart and worked with DesignToProduction Stuttgart and Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering.
Practical information
- General public
- Invitation required
- This event is internal
Organizer
- ENAC
Contact
- Joanna Jermini-Howard / Cristina Perez