Marilyne Andersen

Advanced Daylighting Systems
Marilyne Andersen, PhD, Assistant Professor of Building Technology in the Department of Architecture at MIT, will discuss the benefits and potential of advanced fenestration systems such as novel solar blinds, new glazing or coating materials, and innovative daylight-redirecting devices, which can be extended to include electric lighting devices. Marilyne was trained in physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland. She specialized in daylighting throughout her PhD on experimental assessment methods for advanced window systems, and as a visiting scholar at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She has recently developed a new program in daylighting for MIT.

James Carpenter, Principal, James Carpenter Design Associates Inc.

James Carpenter’s work expands the artistic and technical potential of light and glass as they effect architectural space, transforming the individuals’ experience of place.  In 1978, Mr. Carpenter established his studio, James Carpenter Design Associates.  Recent works include the main entry to the Time Warner Center in NY, the tower enclosure design for 7WTC in NY with Skidmore Owings and Merrill, and the new building exterior for Gucci Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.  Mr. Carpenter has taught at universities including the Elliott Noyes Professorship at Harvard GSD, MIT Materials Science Department and University of Stuttgart, Lightweight Structures Institute.  He is the recipient of 2002 National Environment Design Award, AIA Institute Honors Award and 2004 MacArthur Fellowship.

Gary van Deursen has had an award winning career in industrial design and innovation.

He was head of new product design for GE and Director of Concepts & Design for Black & Decker housewares. Living in Europe he was VP of Industrial Design for B&D power tools. He returned to the US to become Corp. Senior VP of Design & Engineering for Coleman, outdoor products. In ‘97 he accepted the position of Corp. VP of Innovation & Design for Stanley tools, creating their first corporate design department in their 160 year history, and winning 12 IDSA/Business Week awards for design excellence. Eighteen months ago he started his own innovation and design consulting firm, Van Deursen LLC.

Sir  Nicholas  Grimshaw  graduated  with  honours  from  the  Architectural  Association  in  1965  and  immediately  started  his  own  practice.  His  early  buildings  of  the  60’s  and  70’s  gained  recognition  for  their  innovative  approach  to  construction  and  detailing  with  the  International  Student  Service  Tower  –  his  first  building  –  winning  the  principal  Structural  Steel  Design  Award  in  1969.

Nicholas  Grimshaw  and  Partners  was  formed  in  1980,  cementing  his  early  reputation  of  rational  building  design  that  draws  on  rigorous  engineering  and  a  profound  understanding  of  materials  (chiefly  steel,  aluminium  and  glass).  Early  industrial  projects,  such  as  the  Herman  Miller  Factory  in  Bath  and  the  BMW  Headquarters  in  Bracknell,  set  a  precedent  for  the  elemental  criteria  that  would  inform  his  architectural  style:  structure,  space  and  skin.  Gradually  the  practice  increased  its  breadth,  exploring  new  sectors  and  tackling  new  problems.

Sir  Nicholas  has  lectured  worldwide.  In  recent  years  he  presented  a  lecture  entitled  Going Green – Architecture, the Environment and Eden  at  the  National  Building  Museum  in  Washington  DC  and  Structure, Space and Skin  in  São  Paulo,  Brazil.   In  2003  he  gave  the  Louis  Kahn  Memorial  Lecture  at  Penn  University,  Philadelphia.

Chuck Hoberman, President, Hoberman Associates, Inc.

Nowhere do the disciplines of art, architecture and engineering fuse as seamlessly as in the work of inventor Chuck Hoberman who is well known internationally for his Transformable Structures.

Through his products, patents and structures, Chuck Hoberman has demonstrated how objects can be foldable, retractable or shape-shifting. Such capabilities lead to functional benefits: portability, instantaneous opening and intelligent responsiveness within the built environment.

Examples of his commissioned work include the Hoberman Arch in Salt Lake City, Utah, installed as the centerpiece for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.  Other noteworthy commissions include a retractable dome for the Worlds Fair in Hanover, Germany, the Expanding Hypar (1997) at the California Museum of Science and Industry, and the Expanding Sphere (1992) at the Liberty Science Center, Jersey City. His work has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art in New York and at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

Currently Hoberman’s transformable products are being developed for sectors including storage products, furniture, and mobility devices. He continues to design his award-winning toys, and has recently designed a new line of rapidly deployable sheters for crisis response for Johnson Outdoors, a major tent manufacturer.

Hoberman also consults with architectural firms to apply his transformable technology to major building projects. The applications range from responsive shading systems to operable roofs with a primary goal to demonstrate new sustainable strategies for buildings that adapt to the changing  environment.

Kevin Klinger: Digital Fabrication Director

Kevin R. Klinger is the Faculty Lead for the Institute for Digital Fabrication and Rapid Prototyping and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at Ball State University. He is a past President of ACADIA (the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture) an international organization devoted to studying the advances in architecture resulting from influences of digital technology. Kevin's research revolves around the implementation of new technologies in the design process and the subsequent emerging digital discourse in contemporary architecture. He teaches design and digital fabrication in architecture.  Kevin is presently serving as a Fellow of the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry where he and a team of students are constructing digital fabrications at strategic cultural sites along Indiana¹s White River.

Branko Kolarevic

Branko Kolarevic is an associate professor of architecture at the University of Calgary, where he holds the Haworth Chair in Integrated Design. He was previously the Irving Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ball State University in Indiana and has taught architecture at several universities in North America and Asia. He has lectured worldwide on the use of digital media in design and construction and has authored, edited or co-edited several books, including the recently published ³Performative Architecture: Beyond Instrumentality² (with Ali Malkawi) and ³Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing.² He is the past president of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA). He holds doctoral and master's degrees in design from Harvard University and a diploma engineer in architecture degree from the University of Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia.

Ali M. Malkawi, Professor of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania Founder/Director, Penn-Tsinghua T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies

Dr. Malkawi teaches architectural technology and computation and conducts research in the areas of computational simulation, building performance evaluation and advanced visualization. He is Director of the T.C. Chan Center at Penn - a new global initiative which seeks to create healthier, productive, energy efficient strategies for high performance buildings and sustainable environments. Dr. Malkawi has lectured at numerous universities and conferences and is published in many proceedings and journals. He is co-editor of two definitive books on the subject of computationally-driven design and simulation: "Advanced Building Simulation" and "Performative Architecture - Beyond Instrumentality". Dr. Malkawi serves as board member and scientific reviewer for leading journals and conferences, is consulted worldwide on many high profile projects and has taught and conducted research at Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan and Harvard University.

William J. Mitchell is the Alexander Dreyfoos Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences at MIT, Director of the MIT Design Laboratory, and Director of the MIT Media Laboratory’s Smart Cities research group. His research focuses upon new strategies for architectural design and production, digital media, and cities in the era of large-scale digital networks.

Among his publications are: Imagining MIT: Designing a Campus for the 21st Century (2007), Placing Words: Symbols, Space, and the City (2005), City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn (1995), and The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era (1992) – all from the MIT Press. He has been a regular columnist for the Royal Institute of British Architects Journal, and for Building Design magazine, London.

From 1992 to 2003 he served as Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT, and was Architectural Advisor to the President of MIT during its recent major building campaign. Previously he held faculty positions at UCLA – where he was Head of the Architecture/Urban Design Program, Cambridge, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Bruce Nichol, Partner, is a licensed architect in the UK and brings twenty years of diverse architectural experience to the Front team.

Bruce received his BA Honours degree from Huddersfield Polytechnic and his Graduate Diploma in Architecture from Oxford Brookes University. Formerly with Foster and Partners and Renzo Piano Building Workshop, his professional experience includes high-rise construction, international airport and transportation projects, and cultural and educational institutions.

Davidson Norris, Partner, Carpenter Norris Consulting Inc.

Davidson Norris, a practicing architect and a principal of CNC, comes to daylighting from a broad background in sustainable design. Mr. Norris' expertise is in the technical analysis of daylighting, ranging from solar site analysis to daylight availability on the worksurface.  Mr. Norris has analyzed and investigated daylighting solutions for office blocks, court houses, urban parks, laboratories, residences and astronomical instruments. Mr. Norris is a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture and teaches daylighting and sustainable design in the architecture school at Columbia University. Mr. Norris is a member of Illuminating Engineering Society and the North American Sundial Society.

Marc Simmons, Partner, is a faculty member at the Princeton University School of Architecture and lectures widely on the subject of façade design.

His specialist façade experience was built upon previous work at Meinhardt Façade Technology, Foster and Partners, and other distinguished architectural firms. Prior to Front, he was a team leader for the structural glass & façade design group at Dewhurst Macfarlane & Partners in New York. Marc holds both Bachelor of Environmental Studies and professional Bachelor of Architecture degrees from the University of Waterloo, Canada.

L. William Zahner, Chief Executive Officer, A. Zahner Company

William Zahner received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kansas.  He is the Chief Executive Officer of the A. Zahner Company a 110-year old architectural and artistic metal fabrication firm.  Zahner engineers, fabricates and installs metal on projects across the United States.  Recently William Zahner received an Honorary AIA from the American Institute of Architects, the Copper Metal Award in Milan, Italy, and the Regional Entrepreneur Award from the Bloch School of Business. William Zahner is the author of two books on Architectural Metal, has 4 patents and consults architects and artists on the use of metal.