Computational Design and Material Systems Innovation

Computational Design and Material Systems Innovation Cluster assembles Taubman College faculty with expertise in advanced computational design focused on the development of novel material systems and fabrication processes. Current research foci include advanced concrete and polymer additive manufacturing, textile innovations with CNC knitting and robotic processes for composites, computational glass forming, novel techniques for digital formwork production, robotic timber manufacturing, hybrid system design for responsive envelope systems, generative computing processes and performance optimization.

As a highly collaborative research cluster, these Taubman College faculty work extensively with interdisciplinary teams across the University of Michigan campus, actively engaging in current collaborations with faculty in the departments of Material Science and Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and the Center for Sustainable Systems.

Central to the work conducted at Taubman College is the state-of-the-art Fabrication Lab, one of the nation’s most advanced laboratories for research on digital fabrication processes in architecture.

Many of the faculty in this cluster teach in the College’s Master of Science in Architecture program with a concentration in Digital and Material Technologies (MS_DMT). We are currently seeking applicants to the Ph.D. program in Architecture to join these faculty in pursuing rigorous research agendas that aim to disrupt the building sector, designing new material systems—from file to fabrication—that re-shape the built environment.