BA Project, Amanda Oramas Alayon, Spring 2025, Studio 1. Image: Amanda Oramas Alayon.
Digital Tectonics
In the current context of climate emergency, architects need to play a critical role in designing infrastructure that is resilient, adaptable and sustainable. Digital technologies can help architects address such a challenge, engaging with complexity in the building environment and articulating issues of environmental sustainability and building performance. Digital technologies are transforming the way we design and construct buildings, moving beyond their use as a mere tool to a way of materializing ideas and dealing with multifaceted design problems. In studio 1 we ask: How can digital design enable developing sustainable built environments for everyone? The ambition is to explore digital design and computational thinking in their potential for transformative and sustainable architecture. We will examine how new technologies, including AI and parametric design, help address today’s complex design challenges.
Context of Investigation
This studio will be situated in the context of Umeå, where we will explore the design of the built environment through two major projects—one in the Fall and one in the Spring. Our work will focus on designing the built environment in response to societal needs, while thoughtfully addressing the realities of the climate crisis.
Studio Agenda and Methodology
The studio will emphasize the use of digital tools in architectural practice, while incorporating analogue computational methods such as rule-based design. Digital design will serve both as an analytical tool—to interpret and understand the site—and as a generative medium—to develop and articulate new architectural proposals. By critically engaging with a range of tools, from parametric design to building performance simulation, we will explore how digital technologies can be leveraged to deal with contemporary societal challenges.
The studio will adopt a project-based approach, diving into the design process from the beginning through the creative and effective use of digital tools. With a focus on architectural practice, we will integrate technological progress and sustainable principles. Our aim is to translate ideas into architectural form, grounding our work in the thoughtful, situated, and environmentally responsible design of the built environment.
Teaching team: Elena Vazquez (studio responsible), Julia Samberg, Emelie Aktanius.
Latest update: 2025-09-02