Professor Mark Burry has published internationally on two main themes: the life and work of the architect Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, and putting theory into practice with regard to challenging architecture; he has also published widely on broader issues of design, construction and the use of computers in design theory and practice. As architect to the Temple Sagrada Família since 1979, Mark Burry has been a key member within the local design team based on site in Barcelona, untangling the mysteries of Gaudís compositional strategies for his greatest work, especially those coming from his later years, the implications of which only become apparent as they are resolved for building purposes. On February 18 2004, in recognition of his contribution to this project, Professor Burry was given the prestigious award Diploma i la insignia a lacadèmic corresponent and the title Il.lustrisim Senyor by the Reial Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi. In 2006 Mark was awarded the Australian Research Councils most prestigious funding award, a Federation Fellowship for five years. He was also the recipient of the USA Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) Award for Innovative Research that year. He is the Velux Visiting Professor at CITA, Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark (2009-2011).
Professor Burry is Director of RMITs state-of-the-art Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory (SIAL), which has been established as a holistic transdisciplinary research environment dedicated to almost all aspects of contemporary spatial design activity. The laboratory focuses on collocated design research and undergraduate and postgraduate teaching with associated advanced computer applications and the rapid prototyping of ideas. The laboratory has a design-practice emphasis and acts as a creative think-tank accessible to both local and international practices, including ARUP in Melbourne, Sydney and London, dECOi in MIT, and Gehry Partners in Los Angeles.
Professor Burry is the Founding Director of RMIT Universitys Design Research Institute (DRI), inaugurated in March 2008. DRI brings together researchers from a range of design disciplines and harnesses their collective expertise to address major social and environmental dilemmas.
Kai Strehlke born 1966, studied architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) in Zurich, Switzerland and the Center for Environmental Planning & Technology (CEPT) in Ahmedabad, India, 1988-1995. After post graduating with a master of computer aided architectural design, 1997-1998, he researched and lectured at the chair of CAAD at the ETH Zurich with Maia Engeli and Ludger Hovestadt, 1998-2004. Since 2005 he is working for the architectural office of Herzog & de Meuron in Basel where he built up and leads the Department of Digital Technologies of the office. He integrated a digital workshop in the office with different CNC technologies and his team supported various projects on geometrical issues as well as on parametric design. In 2008 he submitted his PhD at the Swiss Federal School of Technology with the theme of "The Digital Ornament in Architecture, its Generation, Production and Application with Computer-Controlled Technologies.
Sebastian Finckh has been in a leading position in this crossdisciplinary studio since the founding of J. MAYER H. Architects. He studied at the Technical University in Munich, the University of East London and the University of the Arts in Berlin. His work has been displayed, published, and awarded internationally (and is i.e. part of the collection at MoMA New York). He has tought and lectured at numerous universities, among these the University of Arts in Berlin and the Brandenburg Technical University in Cottbus.
J. MAYER H. Architects focus on working at the intersection of architecture, communication and new technology. For the production of space the application of interactive media and responsive materials are playing a central role.
Recent projects include the Town Hall in Ostfildern, Germany, a student centre at Karlsruhe University and the redevelopment of the Plaza de la Encarnacion in Sevilla, Spain.
From the background of multidisciplinary space research about the relation of human body, material, nature and technology projects in the variety of scales from urban planning schemes and buildings to installation work and objects are designed, planned and realized in international building activity.
Projects with J. MAYER H. Architects: Stadthaus in Ostfildern, public building (2001), Student refrectory in Karlsruhe (2007), Office building in Hamburg (2007), HomeHaus in Hamburg (2008), mOverWall, loft conversion in Berlin (2009), Metropol Parasol in Sevilla, Spain (2011)
Markus Wikar is a Helsinki based architect who has a strong interest in researching and developing computational methods for creating architecture, spatial and visual art. When not working on his own experimental projects he is collaborating with architectural practices in Helsinki on projects with challenging geometries. He has been involved in projects ranging from from fashion design to the designing of public buildings. He has a long-term involvement in Lahdelma & Mahlamäkis Jewish Museum project in Warsaw. For that project a many in-house methods, related to computational architecture, have been developed for coping with the buildings challenging geometry. Besides the museum Markus has recently worked as a member Muotohiomo Oys team on the interior design of the Finnish Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo in 2010.
Markus has been teaching in workshops related to algorithmic and parametric design at Aalto University, The Estonian Academy of Arts and Columbia University. His latest teaching involvement was in a summer fabrication workshop, which was a joint effort between University of Oulu, Columbia University and Aalto University. In the workshop a pavilion, Pudelma, was designed and built in Turku, where it is now a part of the European Capital of Culture 2011 program.
