Weitzman Architecture PhD Students Present Four Research Papers at ACADIA 2025 at Florida International University.

Weitzman Architecture PhD students presented their research at the ACADIA 2025 Conference, Computing for Resilience: Expanding Community Knowledge and Impact. Their work engaged material ecologies, computational fabrication, and human-centered environmental systems, representing two leading Weitzman labs: DumoLab, directed by Laia Mogas-Soldevila, and the Thermal Architecture Lab, directed by Dorit Aviv.

Two of the five papers were developed within DumoLab, which focuses on bio-composites, material ecologies, and computational design. “From Nature-Inspired Design to Bio-Based Production: An Optimized Computational Workflow for Additive Manufacturing of Bio-Composite Surface-Filling Patterns” presented by PhD students Bowen Qin and Behzad Modanloo, introduced new computational strategies for improving additive manufacturing techniques using sustainable bio-based materials. PhD student Eda Begum Birol presented “TEGULA Series: Chemically Interactive & Ecologically Benign Bio-Composites,” an installation of biomaterial tiles currently on display at Colorado University Boulder’s Art Museum as part of Biogenic Futures: Women Shaping Material Ecologies. Birol shared: “Our talk aimed to take the audience on a journey to  Philadelphia, where we source our materials hyper-locally and reinforce material circularity in design.” Reflecting on the conference, she added: “ACADIA remains a vibrant community of interdisciplinary practitioners… I am energized to see what will emerge from this brilliant community in the year ahead.”

Two papers represented work from the Thermal Architecture Lab, focusing on climate-responsive and human-centered environmental systems. PhD student Zhan Shi presented “Human-Centered Adaptive Façade: Evaluating Fuzzy Logic and Human-in-the-Loop Control for Passive Building Performance and Occupant Comfort,” which integrates environmental sensing, fuzzy logic, and user feedback. She explained: “The research investigates how adaptive façade systems can couple environmental sensing, fuzzy logic, and occupant feedback to balance building performance and comfort in real time.” Regarding  the conference experience, Shi noted: “It was great to see how researchers and designers are pushing the boundaries between computation, material behavior, and human-centered environmental design.”

Fourth-year PhD candidate Ji Yoon Bae presented “KlimaStol: 3D-printed Cooling Chair for Mitigating Outdoor Heat Stress,” a solar-powered concrete cooling chair fabricated through robotic 3D printing. The project expands on a previous TENOPY prototype, enhancing conductive cooling through a larger body-contact surface, custom high-conductivity concrete, and integrated cooling pipes. Reflecting on the dialogue the project sparked, Bae shared: “The conference fostered interdisciplinary dialogues on material innovation, environmental performance, and future design technologies, and KlimaStol engaged with these central conversations in a thoughtful way.”

Congrats to all our PhD Architecture students. They are sure to be leading members of ACADIA in the years to come.