Experts of the Laka Accelerator

(Manufacturing and Industrial Engineer, Researcher, Co-founder of Zero Damage) Esmeralda Niño, M.S. is a Manufacturing and Industrial Engineer with seven years’ experience simulating the structural behavior and material’s properties of mechanical components across large, multitenant enterprises in Mexico such as General Electric, Takata CO., and Whirlpool, Inc. She also was a patent examiner at the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Office of the University of Puerto Rico. In 2016 he teamed with Arch. Wilfredo Méndez and co-founded Zero Damage LLC,…

(Architect, Researcher, Educator, Co-founder of Zero Damage) Wilfredo Méndez, M.Arch is an adjunct professor and researcher at the School of Architecture of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico. In 2016 he teamed with Eng. Esmeralda Niño and co-founded Zero Damage LLC, a startup that engineers autonomous seismic-controlling systems that will allow creating buildings that behave like humans to improve earthquake-resilience. Since 2012, he has been leading multiple scientific investigations on bio-inspired building technology and disaster-resilience from within the Pontifical…

(Architect, Researcher, Cochair of the ROB|ARCH2016) Dr Dagmar Reinhardt is the cochair of the ROB|ARCH2016, a practising architect, Program Director of the Bachelor of Architecture and Environments and Leader of the Master of Digital Architecture Research at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney. Reinhardt’s research extends architectural performance and performativity towards design research and crossdisciplinary practice with audioacoustics, and structural engineering. Her work focuses on engineering the acoustic behaviour of curved geometries through generative design…

(Architect, Structural Engineer, Educator, Assistant Professor of Structures in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Sudarshan Krishnan is an architect, structural engineer and Assistant Professor of Structures in the School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His current research is focused on lightweight structures and transformable architecture. This includes cable domes, deployable structures, tensegrity and tensioned-membrane structures. He serves on the Working Group-6: Tensile and Membrane Structures, of the International Association of Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), and on…

(Architect, Designer, Co-founder of BART//BRATKE) Paul Clemens Bart is a German architect and designer, currently based in London. He collected a wide choice of experience in multifaceted disciplines, working at Zaha Hadid Architects, LAVA Sydney and Berlin and as a fellow at the German Institute of Science and Technology, Singapore. In 2014 Paul co-founded the research design collaborative BART//BRATKE, following ten years of collaborative work.  Paul holds a diploma in architecture from Technical University of Munich and a MArch from…

(Engineer, Manager, experienced in heavy earth moving & construction equipment design) Vinod Bhaskara Rao has nearly 20 years of experience in different facets of engineering: Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Project & Product Management with core competence in Design synthesis and Development of Earthmoving & Construction machineries, Aerial devices and Utility Vehicles, with the profile honed to meet industry requirements. Vinod received Post Graduate Diploma in Operations and Finance Management from Symbiosis Institute for Distance Learning and Bachelor of Engineering in…

(Architect, Researcher, Educator, Entrepreneur, PhD SIAL/RMIT) Dr. M. Hank Haeusler Dipl.-Ing. (Fh) / PhD (SIAL/RMIT) is the Discipline Director of the Computational Design degree and Associate Professor in the Australian School of Architecture + Design at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Haeusler is known as a researcher, educator, entrepreneur and designer in media architecture, digital technology, interaction design and ubiquitous computing and author of seven books; several book chapters and conference papers. He has taught and lectured in…

(Architect, Designer, Co-founder of BART//BRATKE) Marvin Bratke is German architect and designer, currently based in Berlin. He has received his diploma in architecture with a special focus on mobility design top of the semester at Technical University of Munich in June 2011. His ongoing research and design ambitions are focused on emergent technologies in architecture and industrial design, the digital methodology relating both professions and their application in performance-orientated, mobile and ecological building systems. Following ten years of collaborative experience…

(Architect, Researcher, Assistant Professor at SUNY Buffalo, Laureate of the 1st prize in the Laka Competition 2016) Jin Young Song, AIA, is an Assistant Professor at University at Buffalo, and a founder of DIOINNO Architecture PLLC, Buffalo and Seoul based design firm. His interest is in viewing the contemporary façade as a mechanism that integrates manifold technical and non-technical elements, thereby generating a specific relationship between people and the culture. Song’s professional experience includes working for SOM, OMA, Sauerbruch Hutton, and Leers…

(Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineer, Ph.D., Laureate of the 1st prize in the Laka Competition 2016) Jongmin Shim is an Assistant Professor in the Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at University at Buffalo (UB). Prior to joining University at Buffalo, He received a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Mechanics from MIT in 2010 and worked as a Post-Doc Fellow at Harvard University. Dr. Shim’s research at UB centers on the buckling-induced behavior of flexible mechanical metamaterials, which can be characterized by tunable non-conventional…

(RA, LEED AP BD+C, Founding Director of LAGI) Robert Ferry is the Co-Founder of the Land Art Generator Initiative and Studied Impact Design (together with Elizabeth Monoian). He has two decades of professional experience designing and managing high profile capital projects in the US and the UAE. He consults on design strategy for net-zero and net-positive buildings and has contributed to many sustainable development projects around the world, including Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. His concept designs pushing the envelope of…

(MFA, Founding Director of LAGI) Elizabeth Monoian (MFA, Carnegie Mellon University) is Co-founder of the Land Art Generator Initiative (together with Robert Ferry), an organization that is developing global partnerships between private and public entities around interdisciplinary projects that address issues of climate and sustainability through the lens of creativity. She works closely with cities, universities, corporations, arts organizations, and community groups to design customized approaches to renewable energy installations. Through LAGI Elizabeth has published, exhibited, and presented globally on…

(Artist & Architect, Director of the Atmos Studio) Alex Haw is an artist & architect, and director of the Atmos - an award-winning multidisciplinary art + architecture + design practice (est. 2007) that works internationally across scales and media - from small-scale product-design to large-scale master-plans, with core expertise in public installations and bespoke residential environments. Before atmos, Alex studied at the Bartlett (UCL) and Princeton; worked for Diller + Scofidio, Richard Rogers, Nicholas Grimshaw and Seth Stein Architects; and taught…

(Engineer in sustainable development, Doctor in sociology of happiness, Co-founder of Atelier CMJN, Scientific director of La Fabrique Spinoza) Gaël Brulé is an engineer in sustainable development (INSA(France), KTH(Sweden)) and doctor in sociology of happiness of the Erasmus University of Rotterdam (the Netherlands). Fascinated by the potential contribution of architecture for sustainable development. He co-founded Atelier CMJN, which stands at the crossroads between architecture, sociology and environmental engineering. The studio is based in Paris but works internationally. Gaël is the scientific director of…

(Interdisciplinary artist, Expert in portable architecture, Inventor) Ana graduated from Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto and received her MFA from Concordia University in Montréal, Canada. She works with inflatables and explores relations between portable architecture, the body and the environment. Her art crosses into disciplines of art, design, architecture and performance. Influenced by Buckminster Fuller's concept of “synergetics” she strives for the integrity of processes and ideas looking at biomimicry and “homeotechnology” as sources of inspiration. Currently,…

(Architect, Art Historian, Ph.D of Sciences, Ph.D of Arts, Expert of Biodigital and Genetic Architecture, Founder of ESARQ /UIC/) Alberto T. Estévez - Architect (UPC, 1983), Architecture Ph.D. of Sciences (UPC, 1990), Art Historian (UB, 1994), Art History Ph.D. of Arts (UB, 2008): With professional office of architecture and design (Barcelona, 1983-today). Teaching in different universities for more than 25 years, in the knowledge’s areas of architectural design, architectural theory and art history, until founding the ESARQ (UIC, 1996), where…

(Designer, M.Arch student, laureate of the 1st prize in the Laka Competition 2015) Imaginative and strategic, Calvin is a designer with an interest for innovation. He is completing a master’s degree in architecture at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. His research focuses on soft material systems and participation in architecture. He is a member of the Design Fabrication Zone, an interdisciplinary hub for design/fabrication, innovation and entrepreneurship. Operating at the intersection of art, architecture, design, and science, his work seeks…

(Architect, Educator, Critic, Founder of V.Oid) Felipe works between Lima and New York where he received a M.S. in Advanced Architecture Design at Columbia University graduating with honors receiving the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize. He then joined Diller Scofidio + Renfro in 2005 - 2009. He has taught at Columbia University GSAPP (AAD) and been invited as a critic to numerous schools like Parsons School of Design, Columbia University, Barnard College. He received his bachelor’s degree from UPC in Lima, and…

(Architect, Engineer, Educator, Researcher, Founder of EcoRedux and ANAcycle) Lydia Kallipoliti is an architect, engineer, writer and curator, currently an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and at RPI’s Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology (CASE) in New York. Her research on the intersection of cybernetic and ecological theories is presented in a variety of media including online digital platforms, lexicons, databases and archives, exhibitions and holographic animations, with the scope of engaging a wide audience in what she calls…

(AIA, NCARB, Architect, Designer and Urban Planner, Adjunct Professor at IIT Chicago, Founder of Education For Future) Monika is Adjunct Professor at College of Architecture at IIT, Chicago. She has been also teaching and lecturing at Architecture Workshop in Venice (organized by IUAV, University of Venice) during Venice Architecture Biennale. She was recently selected for BD+C (Building Design and Construction) 40 under 40 award as “Influential Individual”. Monika is a Founder and Principal of MoNa Architecture, Design and Planning office in…

(Architect, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB 4, Educator, Adjunct professor at IIT Chicago) Chris received his Master in Architecture from University of Illinois. He has over 30 years of professional experience; his expertise is in the planning and design of public assembly spaces and large, multiple-building complexes for public, corporate, and institutional clients. During the past ten years, Chris has been instrumental in expanding the global reach of VOA through several master planning and architecture projects in China and Southeast Asia.…

(Architect, Urban Innovation Consultant, Educator) Camilla is an architect and urban planner from Copenhagen, Denmark, currently an Urban Innovation Consultant in Arup Digital Studio. Previously she has been a Project Architect with Gehl Architects since 2013, where she has been working with public space/public life studies, public space plans, action-oriented planning and smart cities. Camilla has worked on several publications and conferences on the application of technology in cities, both out of a personal interest and in line with her work…

(Architect, Founder of FAULDERS STUDIO, Professor of Architecture at California College of the Arts) Thom Faulders, founder of FAULDERS STUDIO, works at the intersection of commissioned architecture, speculative design research, permanent public art installations, and international museum and gallery exhibitions. His participation in leading international museum and gallery venues includes the FRAC Centre Orleans in France, Oslo Triennale, SOMarts Cultural Center San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, New York Museum of Modern Art and many others. The work of…

(architect, designer, cofounder and lead designer at UOOU studio) UOOU studio specialises in architecture that connects man-made environments with nature, putting eco- and human-oriented design at the core of its mission. Evolving from its founders’ past experience in experiential design, the studio works with a wide range of clients worldwide, such as in the commercial and residential sector, brands, local communities and cultural institutions. Gianluca has a Master in Self-Sufficient Building Design from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia…

(Architect, Researcher, Educator, visiting professor at the Braunschweig University of Art) Dr. Sc. ETH Zurich Manuel Kretzer is an architect, researcher and educator. He is currently visiting professor at the Braunschweig University of Art, leading and teaching the subject ‘Digital Crafting’. Manuel is the founder of the ‘materiability research network’, an educational platform that provides open access to cutting edge new material developments and technologies. He is also founding partner of ‘responsive design studio’ based in Cologne, a design office…

(Architect, Researcher, Expert in computational design and digital fabrication, Manager of Noumena) Aldo is an architect and researcher, expert in computational design and digital fabrication. Master in Architectonic Design in 2007, Master in Advanced Architecture at IAAC in 2012, Fab Academy diploma in 2014 in the Fab Lab Barcelona, Aldo is currently involved in several projects running in parallel. Since 2011, he is manager of Noumena, a young firm exploring multiscalar strategies from bits to atoms. He is also founder of…

(Architect, Writer and Consultant at Design Affects) Katie is an architect, writer and business consultant working with individuals and organizations to create financially sustainable and creatively rewarding careers. Her previous experiences include project management and delivery of adaptive reuse projects; volunteering on urban renewal installations; co-starting a community garden; building a social impact design firm; and running two blogs dedicated to impact design. Katie currently shares her research and thinking on DesignAffects.com and serves on the board of the architecture charity…

(Architect & Computational Designer, Researcher, Co-founder of rat) Sushant Verma is an architect & computational designer, currently leading research organization rat - Research in Architecture & Technology. Former architect at Zaha Hadid Architects, London & a Sr. Editor at Arch2O, he holds teaching positions at a number of universities internationally & is involved in education for computational & parametric design. He is the founder of rat EDUCATION, which is an initiative to spread the idea of computation in design profession…

(Architect, Designer, Co-founder of lab-eds) Rasa Navasaityte is an architect and designer. She is the founder of the design practice lab-eds. She teaches at the institute of urban design in Innsbruck and lectures digital techniques at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Currently she works on her PhD-thesis titled: „Inside/Out – The seven diagrams of Ungers as an organizational matter“. Her project contributes to an architectural framework of ecological form and is acknowledged through several publications, awards and exhibitions. http://www.lab-eds.org

(Architectural Robotics Developer, Researcher, Co-founder of rat) Pradeep Devadass is an architect, researcher and computational designer. Pradeep leads the research cell as the Head of Research & Business Development at rat. Currently working as an Architectural Robotics Developer, based at Architectural Association, in collaboration with Bristol Robotics Laboratory(UWE). His works have been published and exhibited internationally in the United Kingdom, Europe and India and he is one of the recipients of the prestigious MAK-Schindler Residency Program Award (Los Angeles / Vienna) awarded to…

(Urbanist, Researcher, Co-founder of lab-eds) Dr. Daniel Koehler is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Institute of Urban Design in Innsbruck, Associate Professor for digital design strategies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts and founding member of the Lab for Environmental Design Strategies. He was also a lecturer at the Sci-Arc, Städelschule and Aalto University. Daniel is the author of the book: "The mereological City: a reading of the works of Ludwig Hilberseimer". He is also the author of "punktiert" and…

(Architect, Researcher, Lecturer at University of Southern California) Doris Sung is bringing responsive systems to architecture far beyond the simple "greening" of buildings. Through grantfunded research, she is developing smart materials such as thermobimetal to make buildings skins respond to the environment while using no energy and no controls. Her work is a seamless blend of digital computation, complex geometries, innovative structures, and appealing aesthetics. Educated at Princeton and Columbia universities, Doris Sung currently teaches fulltime at the University of…

(Architect, Research at the ETH in Zürich, Digital Fabrication) Luka studied architecture at the University of Zagreb in Croatia and worked in architectural offices in Croatia and Switzerland. He continued his studies at the ETH in Zürich and received his Master of Science in Architecture (MSc ETH Arch) in 2011. Since 2011, he is working as a research assistant at the Chair for Architecture and Digital Fabrication at the ETH in Zürich. From 2011 to 2014, he was leading the…

(Architect, Co-founder of SoftKill Design, Director of Research Cluster 4 at UCL) Gilles Retsin is a London based architect holding a Masters in Architecture + Urbanism (Dist) from the Architectural Association School of Architecture Design Research Laboratory (AA.DRL). Prior to founding his own practice, he worked in Switzerland as a project architect with Christian Kerez, and in London with Kokkugia. He also co-founded SoftKill Design, a collective design studio investigating generative design methodologies for additive manufacturing and 3D-printing. Alongside his…

(Product & Material Designer in the fields of biodesign and biofabrication) Emma is trained as product designer, but has great interest in the fields of biodesign and biofabrication. As product designer, Emma collaborated with different disciplines, from scientists, physicists, artists and designers. Through a strong design, Emma tells a compelling story. She highlights the crossovers with craft, scientific research and new production techniques. Emma is trying to create an environment where boundaries dissolve, and where different disciplines benefit and learn…

(Architect, Urban designer, Researcher at the MIT Senseable City Lab) Anthony is partner strategist and researcher at the MIT Senseable City Lab, a multidisciplinary research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that studies the interface between cities, people, and technologies. Anthony has widely presented on topics of design, technology and urbanism, including at Harvard University, Skanska Worldwide Research & Development, the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the New York Center for Architecture, and published in both academic…

(Eng. arch, PhD. Architect and Urbanist) Dr. Michał Stangel,  Vice-dean for Research at the Faculty of Architecture, Silesian University of Technology. Previously worked for EDAW on London 2012 Olympics masterplan, Nassau regeneration and Dubai Waterfront. As Fulbright visiting scholar at MIT partook in the Zaragoza Digital Mile project. Principal designer for over 40 urban design projects – masterplanning, regeneration and public spaces. Received 20 prizes in design competitions; including winning Krakow Nowa Huta of the Future. Member of the council…

(Founder and Director of the Innovation Leadership Forum) Dr. Bettina von Stamm is an original and visionary thinker in the field of innovation, who has focused on enabling innovation in large organisations since 1992. She is the founder and director of the Innovation Leadership Forum (ILF), which brings together leaders and decision makers in large organisations to embrace the challenges of innovation in a non-competitive and non-selling environment. Through the ILF, she offers a variety of innovation MasterClasses and coaching for senior…

(Structural Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Researcher in Biomimetics) Dr. Silvia Titotto is the principal investigator of the “4D Printing and Biomimetics” interdisciplinary research group. She is currently an Assistant Professor of the "Engineering, Modeling and Applied Social Sciences Center" and at the Post Graduate Program in “Engineering and Management of Innovation”, both at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC). She holds a PhD title from Politecnico di Torino (Italy) in the field of "Technological Innovation for the Built Environment"…

(AIA Architect, Parametrics and Architectural tectonics) Yong Ju Lee is principal of Seoul and New York based Yong Ju Lee Architecture. His interest is complex parametrics and architectural tectonics in terms of new vocabularies of pattern and tessellation based on information. His works keenly focus on the geometric experiment as a primary creative and aesthetic gesture of building when information becomes essential from conceptual process to actual construction. Yong Ju Lee received a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from Yonsei University…

(Founder and strategist of the Cohabitat Foundation) Paweł Sroczyński is the founder and strategist of the Cohabitat Foundation. He is the creator of an platform dedicated to construction of autonomic housing developments - cohabitat.net, and propagator of open-source and open hardware ideas in architecture. As a researcher into natural building techniques, he strives to find and implement new paradigms of constructing of human settlements as structures based on principles of the functioning of entire ecosystems. https://cohabitat.net/

(Researcher, MIT Senseable City Lab, IIT-CNR, Member of IEEE Computer Society) Dr. Paolo Santi is a Research Scientist at MIT Senseable City Lab where he leads the MIT/Fraunhofer Ambient Mobility initiative, and is a Senior Research at the Istituto di Informatica e Telematica del CNR in Italy. He has been recently recognized as Distinguished Computer Scientist from ACM. His research interest is in the modeling and analysis of complex systems ranging from wireless multi hop networks to sensor and vehicular networks…

(Parametric designer, Entrepreneur, Co-founder of Tylko) Parametric designer and an entrepreneur fascinated by potential intersections of algorithmically generated design, distributed digital manufacturing and internet of things. He is a co-founder of Tylko, a start-up which is on a mission to digitize the furniture industry. It’s one of the world’s first solutions combining Augmented Reality, mass customisation and local digital manufacturing on demand. Michal teaches parametric design at School of Form and tutored numerous workshops. He graduated from Warsaw School of…

(Founder and CEO of the Peace and Collaborative Development Network) Dr. Craig Zelizer  is the Founder and CEO of PCDN. Craig has dedicated his life to being an entrepreneur and to creating a more peaceful world. Since its founding in 2007, Craig has grown PCDN to over 36,500 members representing more than 180 countries. Craig serves on a number of boards and advisory boards including the Alliance for Peacebuilding, Inzone Project, TechChange, Move This World, Amani Institute, and several others.…

(Director of Innovation at the Peace and Collaborative Development Network) Dr. Catalina Rojas is Director of Innovation at the Peace and Collaborative Development Network. At PCDN, Catalina helps lead strategic development, partnerships, content development and programming to engage over 35,000 academic, practitioners and organizations around the world. She is a noted expert on gender, development and conflict resolution. As director of Global Partnerships at Women Thrive Worldwide, she created a worldwide women’s network and led training and consultation processes to…

(Textile designer, Scientist, Specialist in biotechnology) Amy is a designer interested in exploring the crossovers between design and science, through a highly experimental and research driven practice. Using speculative design work she investigates the implications of engaging with new technologies, such as biotechnology. Employing her work as a vehicle to provoke debate, and discussion, into the potential ramifications of using living materials to create our future products. She is currently collaborating with tissue engineers at Kings College London. Amy has…

(Programs Director of the Technology Exchange Lab) Brennan Lake is the Programs Director of the Technology Exchange Lab (TEL), a Boston-based nonprofit that bridges the gap between last-mile communities and innovative solutions to problems of poverty. Brennan joined TEL in 2013, following four years of working across non-profit and for-profit sectors in South America.  As Programs Director, Brennan has designed and launched projects to sustainably implement appropriate technology solutions in energy access, water & sanitation, agriculture and housing across developing regions worldwide. Outside of his work…

(Architect, Urban planner, PhD Eng. Arch.) Dr. Agnieszka Labus is an architect and urban planner, assistant professor at the Department of Urban and Spatial Planning at the Faculty of Architecture at Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice. She gained experience during many internships at: USA (Berkeley), UK (London and Edinburgh), France (Paris). Initiator and CEO of the Laboratory of Architecture 60+ (LAB 60+), the first that type laboratory in Poland. The author of one book and many articles in scientific…

(Architect, Educator, LEED AP, Assoc. AIA) Co-Founder of Terreform ONE. Maria is an educator, architect and urban designer in New York City.  Her work is focused on the theory, science and application of ecological design. She is the founding Co-President of Terreform ONE.  In 2013, Maria was appointed Academic Director of Global Architecture and Design of CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange). Presently, Maria chairs the ONE Lab NY School for Design and Science and the One Prize Design and…

(IARP and BAK Architect, Ecological construction, Author of CO2 Saver House) Dr. Peter Kuczia is an expert in ecological constructions with more than 20 years of experience. 2008 PhD dissertation on Solar Architecture in Germany. Author of “Educating Buildings – Learning Sustainability through Displayed Design”. He has been awarded international prizes e.g. 1st prize of Polish GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL for ZERO-ENERGY Research and Educational Complex Wroclaw University of Technology; National nomination – MIES VAN DER ROHE AWARD for European Architecture…