Dr. Arash Adel is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He is one of the core faculty members of the Ph.D. in Architecture program and leads the Doctoral Colloquium. He also currently teaches in the Master of Science in Digital and Material Technologies program. Adel received his Doctorate in Architecture from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and his Master’s in Architecture from Harvard University.
Adel is the founder and director of ADR Laboratory. His laboratory conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of design, computation, and robotics, contributing to resilient, sustainable, and low-carbon construction outlooks and achievements. At the core of his comprehensive research is investigating human-machine collaborative processes, which tackle fundamental questions related to the future of the design and construction industries and their potential to have a broader impact on inclusive and equitable building culture.
Adel is particularly known for his work with novel integrative computational design methods coupled with robotic assembly techniques for manufacturing nonstandard timber buildings and structures. His experience includes numerous widely-published projects such as the DFAB HOUSE located in Dubendorf, Switzerland, and more recently, the Robotically Fabricated Structure (RFS) timber pavilion sited at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Adel’s research has been supported by several competitive grants. Recently, Adel and his colleagues were awarded a $2M National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. This project, “Collaborative Research: Partnering Workers with Interactive Robot Assistants to Usher Transformation in Future Construction Work,” envisions the potential of intelligent human-robot teams to increase productivity and streamline construction processes, thereby creating new career opportunities within the construction industry and transforming the profile of its future workers.
Adel is the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) New Researcher Award. This award recognizes Adel’s leading-edge research, which the award committee remarked “promises to shape one or more aspects of architectural research and practice.” His work has also been recognized with several other international awards, including the Canadian Wood Council’s Wood Design & Building Awards and the Global Future Design Awards organized by Architecture Press Release.
Adel’s projects have been widely featured on influential platforms, including ArchDaily, Dezeen, and the World Economic Forum. His research has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications, including multiple papers in the Proceedings Catalogs of the prestigious Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), rendering him one of the leading researchers in Architecture Robotics. During the ACADIA 2022 conference, Adel chaired a paper presentation session titled “Robotics and Architectural Design: Control Strategies.”
Adel’s professional experience includes projects in Europe, China, the Middle East, and North America. He has lectured extensively, and his work has been on exhibit at various galleries, institutions, and events, including the AIA National Design Week in Spokane, the Museum of Arts at WSU, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Third Gallery Idaho, and the Middle East Technical University in Ankara.
