PARTNERS
POLITECNICO DI MILANO UNIVERSITY
The leader and Italian partner and applicant of the project, Politecnico
di Milano University has a strong architectural and industrial design program.
Its design faculty has pioneered and maintains active contributions to
the research in advanced generative design methodology and technologies.
The Generative Design Lab at its Department of Architecture and Planning
has been strategically the cultural and operational centre and leader of the
development and international academic exchange of the advanced generative
design methodology and technologies. Besides the history of development of
superior and leading design studies on philosophical and practical issues,
and general European design intellectual and cultural environment, the design
program at this university directly draws its inspirations from Italian Renaissance
tradition of design and architecture. This institution is well equipped
and qualified to lead this Europe-China collaboration project with its faculty
members who are intimately familiar with Chinese design education and practices
through broad connections with Chinese design communities and constant involvement
in design teaching and practice in China.
Team:
Prof. Celestino
Soddu, project leader and coordinator, is the Chair of Generative
Art annual international conference and director of Generative Design
Lab at Department of Architecture and Planning. He has established his
worldwide reputation as the leader of the academic field of research and
practice of Generative Design and Art, as well as a well known and respected
scholar of related fields of Artificial Intelligence in Design and architectural
and industrial design methods. He has cumulated strong record of lecturing
and research experiences with China in recent years, as invited senior research
fellow at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a well received guest lecturer
at various Universities and design institutes in Shanghai and Beijing, a
personal exhibition of researches at Hong Kong City Museum recently and research
activity in Macao.
Prof. Quinsan Ciao, manager,
is currently a contract professor at Politecnico di Milano. Also professor
of Ball State University. She brought to the project the expertise and
effectiveness in Chinese partner collaboration. She has international (Europe,
US, Singapore and China) teaching, research and professional experiences,
training background of both eastern and western world, and long time enthusiasm
in bridging west and east design education and culture.
Prof. Enrica Colabella, manager of the
program, is member and co-founder of Generative Design Lab at Department
of Architecture and Planning of Politecnico di Milano University. Her topic
is the implementation of exchanges between European and Chinese cultural
approaches, operating in the field of languages interchange and construction
of transformation codes.
Ing. Giovanni Luca Soddu, manager
Arch. Marco Longatti, collaborator
Post Graduate Students
UNIVERSITY OF KASSEL
The German partner, University of Kassel, has a long history and reputation
of operating one of the most prestigious art and architecture design institutes
in Germany. It has a well-known tradition and strength in the field of
design intelligence study and industrial design. Its faculty members have
established a reputable track record in the research on design intelligence
and generative design methodology and technologies. Germany, with many of
its well-known universities and design institutes, not only has played an
importance role in the history of modern architecture but also has a history
and cultural tradition of connecting and supporting Chinese universities,
and, in this way, it becomes one of the strategic elements of the proposal.
Team:
Prof. Hans Dehlinger,
responsible of the team, director of the
Product Design Institute of the University of Kassel, with his long experience
of teaching activities in the entire world and particularly in China, and
with the multiple workshops’ experiences and co-supervision of thesis with
Prof. Celestino Soddu on the field of generative design approach, gives
a relevant contribution to the success of the project.
Dipl.Des. Oliver Endemann
Dipl.Des. Markus Schein (PhD cand.)
Dipl.Des cand. Ole Werner
Dipl.Informatiker Guenther Doerner (guest member)
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVEN
The Dutch partner, the Eindhoven University of Technologies, Technische
Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e), has a strong reputation in the field of
teaching architectural design. This University provides engineering, postgraduate
design, and teacher-training programmes, and post-graduate academic courses.
Its education programs are based on the universities own research activities
with a focus on design, architectural and industrial design in general.
It focuses on fundamental/strategic technological research that is relevant
for industrial practice or other applications. This emphasis has been successfully
contributed to the strengthening of the competitive position of trade and
industry. Internationally, the TU/e holds a prominent position in the research
fields of communication technology.
Team:
Prof. Bouke de Vries, responsible of
the team.
Prof. Aant van der Zee
Master candidate Daans Willems
TONGJI UNIVERSITY, SHANGHAI
Tongji University is selected as one of the two Chinese partners.
Not only it is one of the most prestigious universities and operates one
of the finest architecture and civil engineering program in China, but
also it is strategically located in the financial and cultural centre of
China, Shanghai. Shanghai has a long history and rich tradition of being
China’s springboard and portal for international exchanges with Europe
and the world. Besides its excellent design education programs, Tongji
University is also known for its tradition of close relationship to Europe
and its origin of German founding influence and heritage. In China, the
influence of Tongji University covers the entire region of South-eastern
China (where today’s fastest economic growth as a part of the world economy
is concentrated at). Its graduates have traditionally spread to every part
of the country and become educators and decision makers in local and regional
affairs, and thus further spread the influences and heritage of Tongji University.
The college of architecture and urban planning of the university has been
know as the leader in many related design and research fields, including,
for example, the recent Chinese township identify research, which makes a
good candidate for application of generative design and design intelligence
methodologies and technologies. The group is extremely interested in such
application. Furthermore, Tongji University is actively engaging in design
practice and consulting in the region and is know as the most prestigious
design consulting organization in the region and the country, and, therefore,
is an ideal candidate for disseminating new technologies and methodologies
into the industries in the region.
Team:
Prof. Bowei Wang, responsible of the team.
Senior Engineer Mr. Zhong Tang, Associate Director of the Lab
Master candidates Xiang Wang, Hong Wu, Le-Yan Zhang
Master candidate Meng Wang, guided by the advisor Professor Ji-wei
Lu
Ph.D. candidates Yi-Jie Zhang and Ming Dai joint by Master
candidate Cheng-yu Sun, under the guidance of Professor Yong-yi
Lu
Master candidate Xing-Yu Yang, guided by the advisor Associate Professor
Zhen-yu Li
Master candidate Xi Xu and Zhao-Xi Liu, guided by their advisors
Associate Professor Yi Chen and Lecturer Kai-fend Wang
Ph.D. candidate Xiao-Sheng Huang and Master candidate Yao-dong
Zhang, guided by their advisors Professor Jing-Wen Gu and Lecturer
Jie Wu
Mr. Xiang Wang
TIANJIN UNIVERSITY, TIANJIN
The other Chinese partner, Tianjin University, is located in Northern
China. Tianjin University operates another one of the most prestigious
design educational institution in design. The city of Tianjin, similar
to Shanghai, is a port city on China’s east cost. It is the most important
portal of Northern China. Not only having a history and tradition as a portal
for international exchanges, the city has recently built up a new and strong
momentum of accelerating its economic development. A series of newly established
special economic zones has attracted a massive wave of foreign investments
and a large influx of multinational enterprises’ regional operations. This
project will bring very much needed European attention to the school and
the city and the nearby region at a historically critical moment, to upgrade
its design communities skill and mobility. The College of Architecture of
Tianjin University has been actively involved recently in many international
design and design education activities, with considerable success and achievement.
Furthermore, Tianjin University’s research programs in the field of Asian
and Chinese traditional architecture and its leading scholars and educators
have earned the school nationwide as well as international reputation and
recognition. Such programs are strategically poised to set off a barrage
of innovation, through collaboration and exchange with European partners
and draw upon Europe-China cultural and traditional synergies between the
western generative design and management approach and the well structured
and documented traditional Asian-Chinese approaches.
Team:
Prof. Changming Yang, responsible of
the team
Prof. Hua Zhang,
Staff Researcher, Architecture
Prof. Fan-Wei Zhang, Staff Researcher, Architecture
Prof. Jie Cai, Associate Professor, Architecture
Jun Ren, Lecturer, Architecture
Xi-Xin Chen, Ph.D. candidate, Arcitecture
Lin Tian, Ph.D. candidate, Ancient Architecture Preservation
Jing Bai, Ph.D. candidate, Architecture
Li-Jun Zheng, Ph.D. candidate, Architecture
Jin-Song Zhao, Ph.D. candidate, Architecture
Li Yan, Ph.D. candidate, Architecture
Xiao-Bing Wang, Master candidate, Architecture