Timberlyn is inspired by the historic spirit of Woodstock and epitomizes the synergy between human ingenuity and robotic precision.Timbrelyn is a robotically fabricated timber structure that integrates circular design and construction practices enabled by computation, artificial intelligence, and robotics. This project utilizes state-of-the-art research in human-robot collaborative construction (HRCC) to design and fabricate a versatile structure from reclaimed dimensional lumber. In the HRCC process, humans and robots combine their respective advantages – humans’ dexterity and decision-making capabilities, and the precision and efficiency of robots – in a shared assembly environment. 
The assembly workflow is enhanced through real-time perception feedback and adaptive fabrication, enabling waste minimization for bespoke construction and advancing current practices toward sustainable automation. Each structural module is prefabricated at Princeton University’s Architectural Laboratory and transported to the installation site in Bethel, NY, for the final assembly. The project's modular approach allows for ease of transport and on-site assembly, creating an accessible process for all participants.
Timbrelyn serves as a vibrant gathering space, fostering curiosity and interaction while embodying a forward-thinking approach to sustainable architecture. Timbrelyn is designed and fabricated by ARG (Adel Research Group) with the assistance of graduate students from the School of Architecture at Princeton University. The work is evaluated for structural performance in partnership with TYLin Silman Structural Solutions

Timbrelyn

The Apple Park Observatory is a newly unveiled events venue at Apple’s California campus, designed to harmonize with the natural landscape while offering a serene space for contemplation and product showcases. Built into the hillside, The Observatory embodies Apple’s commitment to sustainability and innovative design. Drawing inspiration from the surrounding meadows and mountain views, the building uses natural stone, terrazzo, and timber to complement the adjacent Steve Jobs Theater and main campus. Entered through a domed hall with a sky-facing oculus, The Observatory’s main events space opens onto a large terrace, framing panoramic views of the landscape and inviting visitors to experience Apple’s latest innovations in a thoughtfully crafted environment.

The Observatory

CONTEXT. COMMUNITY. CO-OP. CORE. is a housing project centered on community engagement and neighborhood cohesion across four scales: neighborhood, site, building, and program details. Drawing inspiration from the functionality and pre-engineered systems of agricultural and produce structures, this project embraces low-cost, customizable design. The prefabricated, flexible system facilitates high-design moments, open floor plans, and a crafted yet low-tech aesthetic, aligning with the light-industrial character of Detroit’s Eastern Market.

This design combines an economical shell with a detailed, collaborative interior layout, using farmhouse typology as a modern take on the Quonset hut. The project meets the demand for small-scale, multi-family housing that blends with the evolving warehouse district, supporting flexibility and customization to meet diverse community needs.

Outdoor spaces are categorized as public, semi-public/semi-private, and private, defining shared and individual areas based on site ownership and community engagement. This approach supports casual, community-driven living for residents within Detroit's light-industrial landscape.

Context. Community. Co-op. Core

Cocoon explores creating concrete structures using 3D-printed clay formwork, which reduces labor and material demands typical in complex formwork processes. By leveraging clay as a sustainable, recyclable material, this approach facilitates the production of intricate geometries that are challenging with other methods, with minimal labor for demolding.

This research investigates clay's potential benefits as formwork, given its plasticity when wet, easy recyclability, and self-demolding capabilities due to shrinkage upon drying. The continuous bead extrusion process in 3D printing, inspired by traditional clay coil techniques, enables complex branching structures and supports for handling concrete's hydrostatic pressure.

Cocoon’s innovative method reduces the environmental impact of concrete formwork by using incremental casting and fast-setting concrete. A custom toolpath generator in Grasshopper3D supports the creation of precise form boundaries and structural supports, ensuring scalability and feasibility of intricate designs.

Cocoon

Public spaces are commonly lined with cultural and material cues that strongly imply a social etiquette. Shared knowledge of an environment’s societal implications arise through common paths of education, social activity, and civic interaction. Yet, by its very nature an underrepresented community, defined by combinations of exceptional physical, behavioral, neurological, and cultural make-up, will have grown up through alternative means. The physical and social cues of our built environment often cannot withstand interpretations born of contrasting experiences. As a result, distinctions between the normative and the diverse are exacerbated and the environment’s exclusionary effects magnified. To play together means creating architecture with a capacity to reveal the unknown bounds of social, physical, and cognitive diversity. The Social Equilibria installation seeks to discover equity amidst the agency to activate and characterize space. One orchestrates one’s fitted-ness amidst the social function of play. Textiles become media that entice discovery for the qualities of tactility. Sensorial abilities—to perceive, motivate and act upon a malleable architecture—become inherently social as they resonate from the textile landscape, moment by moment. Architecture becomes a live canvas for communication, rather than the consequence of a doctrine of preconceived expectations.1

Social Equilibria

Longlisted in the small building category of Dezeen Awards 2022

RFS is a robotically fabricated timber pavilion that explores responsible and precise methods contributing to sustainable and low-carbon construction outlooks. This structure is designed with the help of custom algorithms developed specifically for this project and built through state-of-the-art human-robot collaborative construction. RFS employs bespoke prefabricated timber sub-assemblies manufactured from regionally sourced short 2x4 dimensional lumber and utilizes industrial robotic arms to process and assemble elements into intricately layered modules. After fabrication, modules are transported to the site, where human workers move each sub-assembly into place and attach them together to form the pavilion. The integrated digital design and construction process for RFS is a novel approach to considering issues of material use, labor, and the environment to create intelligent and resourceful architecture with striking expressive qualities. RFS is situated in the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, Michigan; it is designed for public engagement, acting as a defined gathering point located within the framework of a public conservatory while still maintaining an open-air condition.

Robotically Fabricated Structure

Collaborative research in sensory-rich, inclusive environments at the University of Michigan. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other special needs can have a unique hyper-awareness of their surroundings. While this can cause anxiety and inhibit their engagement in social spaces, certain sensory experiences can spur enthusiasm, focus, and excitement for social interaction.
Research led by Sean Ahlquist seeks to create responsive, sensory-rich architectural spaces that satisfy these individuals’ myriad unique, preferred environmental factors. By placing such environments within complete social settings, Ahlquist is exploring how an architectural space can create moments for inclusive experiences between neurotypical and neurodiverse children. Additionally, satisfying an individual’s sensory preferences in visual, tactile, and spatial stimulation could give neurodiverse children the confidence to explore other, more normative architectural spaces and social activities.
In order to generate customized floor patterns, we developed the grasshopper definition for laser-cut customized foam tiles in our school. After few rounds of testing different tolerance, we finally got to the tightly combined flooring system.

Playscape

Using an exquisite corpse compositional strategy, this Fabrication section introduces three distinct making strategies and detailing logics, each resulting in a triad of utilitarian objects. Independently, these strategies yield objects functioning as desk lamps, coat racks, and stools. Alternatively, they can be assembled to form the anatomical components of a floor lamp: the desk lamp as the head, the coat rack as the stem, and the stool as the base.

Fabrication tools employed include a 3-Axis CNC Router, Rhinoceros 5 with Mastercam 2017, a woodshop, laser cutter, Zünd cutter, water jet, metal brake, spot welder, and various metalworking hand tools.

Exquisite Lamp

This independent study centers on a teaching collaboration with Prof. Sean Ahlquist, engineering faculty and students, and industry engineers, aimed at pioneering knitting-based design processes for creating innovative pneumatic forms and systems. The study includes (a) developing programming and operational skills for the CNC knitting machine and (b) conducting material exploration and structural testing with mechanical engineering students. Through a knitting-centric approach, this project advances inflatable knitting methods within a practical design framework, informed by direct industry insights from our collaborators.

Knitted Inflatables

Topology Optimization (TO) is a mathematical method for optimizing material layout within a defined design space, considering specific loads, boundary conditions, and constraints to maximize system performance. This nonparametric optimization technique identifies and removes regions that do not contribute to the stiffness of the part or the flow of force.

Design Objectives:

Investigate material properties and techniques for creating a rigid façade system using additive manufacturing via robotic 3D printing.
Enable economical production of lightweight components, allowing for complex geometric forms.
Achieve a zero-waste fabrication process.
Incorporate recyclable materials for a more sustainable built environment.
Minimize transportation costs and reduce building weight.
Enhance structural efficiency and sustainability by minimizing material use while optimizing façade coverage.
Create multifunctional spaces that offer an engaging and exploratory user experience.
This research project couples Topology Optimization (TO) with robotic 3D printing of plastic to develop an ultra-lightweight, fully recyclable, and materially efficient building envelope system. The optimization parameters include wind and gravity loads, as well as key connection points to the building structure. A significant challenge in large-scale pellet extrusion is the precise start and stop control of the extrusion process. This project advances the field by developing tool-path strategies and hardware control paradigms, enhancing the fidelity of the final printed part.

Topology Optimized Building Envelope

This group project focuses on designing tactile interfaces and environments, incorporating multisensory elements like visual, auditory, resistive, and haptic feedback to address movement and social challenges for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

For individuals with ASD, sensory experiences are often heightened, making environmental factors either significant barriers or valuable supports. Our design and testing process explored how sensorially-responsive, textile-based prototypes could act as physical "interventions" to help children navigate and mitigate sensory sensitivities.

In collaboration with Ann Arbor Haisley Elementary School and Science Central, we tested these prototypes in events tailored for children with ASD.

Our initial design aimed to create a "journey-through" space, encouraging exploration. We built an "inside" environment, utilizing a large projection surface as an interaction hub. Two cylindrical structures were introduced for children to explore, connected to a mesh frame that defined the enclosed "inner world." After the first model, we added additional anchor points to reinforce the textile, preventing tearing. The mesh structure also enabled secure anchor points on the ground, enhancing stability and durability.

Engage

This independent study focuses on advancing volumetric knitting methods and exploring STOLL CMS 822 3D knitting programs. The work involves (a) developing programming and operational skills for the CNC knitting machine and (b) designing and testing tensile knits for volumetric forms. The goal is to expand design possibilities through a knitting-centric approach, refining volumetric knitting methods within a structured design process and incorporating insights from industrial design.

Volumetric Knitting

This project explores the themes of "Concept and Symbol," moving beyond traditional architectural keywords to realize ideas in a fresh architectural language. The design focuses on transforming abstract "concepts" into aesthetic "images," which then develop into a unified "building language" and "construction."

The project’s design reflects the complex relationship between folk beliefs and Christianity in Huian County, expressed through a bridge in its simplest structural form. Using geometric principles, the design creates an entrance, corridor, and exit, symbolizing the intertwined yet distinct roles of these beliefs. The spatial divisions illustrate the relationship between two villages, capturing both the tension and harmony of the two religions in a structure that merges new materials with traditional forms.

Can architecture itself tell a story, convey intentions without explanation, or stand alone in its meaning? The result is not just a building or a visual statement, but an "architectural concept" and a "symbol" given form.

Bridge Church

In a hands-on course, I took my first steps into generative design with Autodesk Fusion 360. By simulating real-world forces, I optimized the geometry of a bookshelf prototype through 32 iterations. Each pass unveiled a more refined design, evolving into a structure uniquely shaped by the forces it would face. And tada! This experience laid a solid foundation for my journey into the world of generative design.

Generative Deisign

We created a unique mold and casting process that enables the production of multiple plaster blocks from a single mold. To achieve both material efficiency and geometric continuity, we selected Schoen's Manta Surface of Genus 19 as the foundation for our modular system. Using a silicone rubber mold paired with tetrahedron-shaped acrylic boxes, we cast each intricate Manta surface in plaster, transforming mathematical elegance into tangible, repeatable forms.

Manta

How much material can we save by working smartly with PETG sheets? This personal project set out to answer that question. By creating an innovative interlocking system, I achieved 98% efficiency from two sheets, minimizing waste while keeping the design compact at just 8 cm³ with no extra structure required. To add an interactive element, I incorporated circuit board scripting to adjust lighting based on gravity and acceleration. The project even inspired my lecturer, Mark, who has since continued to develop it, transforming this technique into beautiful, responsive lighting installations. Check out his amazing creation https://www.instagram.com/p/CcYlBzZuNSp/?hl=en&img_index=1

Light Leak

"TriBytes" is a ceramic modular wall system crafted with the KUKA KR60 robot, marking my first steps into the world of clay, robotic 3D printing, and sustainable materials. This project delves into robotic clay printing, modular wall structure, and intricate pattern design, all while examining ceramic properties like shrinkage, porosity, plasticity, and strength. 
Through "TriBytes," I learned the intricacies of ceramics and discovered how material behavior shapes both design and functionality. This experience laid the foundation for my future exploration of sustainable materials and innovative fabrication methods.

TriByte

To many, Burning Man conjures an image of a utopian garden, where thousands gather in the desert to create their own city. This ten-day festival opens its "gates" each year over Labor Day weekend in Black Rock City, a temporary oasis in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada. Participants, affectionately known as "burners," come together to live, create art, and engage in various activities. The experience culminates in the dramatic burning of "The Man," a towering wooden sculpture reaching around 100 feet tall. At its core, Burning Man embodies a spirit of anti-consumerism and radical self-expression.

In this fleeting city, which rises and vanishes in just ten days, a non-profit organization oversees its operations. The festival's camps are organized around diverse themes, while the city hall features various departments, each with its own character and hierarchy. As part of this exploration, I am designing a city hall that reflects this vibrant community spirit, embodying the interplay of structure and wildness, where the essence of collaboration and creativity can thrive.

Like a vibrant animal kingdom, each department showcases unique traits and systems, fostering a sense of community and connection. While there is a structured system in place, it resembles the wild, free-spirited nature of life itself. The hierarchy reflects the distinct characteristics of each department, creating a dynamic ecosystem where everyone plays a role in the celebration of love and peace. To support volunteers, some areas of the city hall can move, allowing them to engage directly with citizens and share in the festival's spirit.

Though each "animal" within this city hall may have its own shape and color, when viewed from above, this lively gathering reveals a harmonious mosaic, where the joy of wild life prevails.

In this space, within the city hall and beyond, system is just a part of the dance of life.

Fantastic Beasts And Here They Are

This project marks my first foray into the world of CNC machining, where I teamed up with a refurbished 3-axis CNC machine to explore the quirks of walnut wood. Throughout the prototype development, I discovered all sorts of fascinating insights into wood properties, machining techniques, and the ever-important tolerance considerations. Of course, I also learned to brace myself for the unexpected—like when the power goes out! This experience reinforced the necessity of always having a Plan B (and maybe a flashlight) at the ready!

PreciseFit, almost

Poly-Fractal Packing is my exciting introduction to learning Rhino and Python. While we’re all familiar with 2D fractal patterns, why stop there? Let’s explore the possibilities of 3D fractals and see what fascinating shapes and forms await us in this three-dimensional realm!

Poly-Fractal Packing

Hourstell is an exciting exploration into waterjet cutting and the properties of soft gauge metal. This project focuses on studying various materials, including their color, bendability, and fabrication efficiency. Through this research, I developed a unique workflow that integrates machine cutting with hand crafting.

Starting with an array of metal strips, I manually twisted them into intricate patterns, carefully constrained by geometry to ensure a cohesive form that aligns with my initial design vision. To enhance the project, I added in playful lighting elements, creating an engaging interplay of light and material that brings the installation to life.

Hoursteel

As all-glass envelopes with very high efficiency (R-20) become technologically feasible, this project investigates the implications for existing building typologies and the new design possibilities that emerge. We explore the significant decision-making drivers, paradigm shifts, and transformations within the ecology of design, delivery, and real estate that will shape the future of building envelopes and typologies.

Design Research Problem:
Developing scenarios requires a flexible design methodology that allows for the rapid visualization and evaluation of multiple options based on the differential prioritization of design drivers.

Methodology:
The approach combines parametric modeling with evolutionary solvers. Conventional digital modeling tools often rely on destructive processes, where changes to model geometry cannot be easily revisited or updated. In contrast, a parametric modeling tool is non-destructive, enabling decisions made at one stage of the design to remain open for revision later, with subsequent design characteristics updating accordingly.

An evolutionary solver employs a problem-solving method that mimics biological evolution, achieving a “fitness” objective by testing numerous iterations. While early solvers typically optimized a single fitness goal, a multi-objective solver balances the fitness of two or more goals simultaneously.

Optimization Objectives:

Fitness 1: Total Annual Solar Exposure, measured in total kWh during the month of August.
Fitness 2: Interior Daylight Quality, assessed as a proportion of spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA) versus Annual Sun Exposure (ASE).
Fitness 3: Cross Ventilation, quantified in hours of thermal comfort without mechanical heating or cooling during August.
This project aims to redefine our understanding of building envelopes, pushing the boundaries of design through innovative methodologies and optimization strategies.

Design Ecologies of Glass

What are the animated qualities in architecture, and how are they produced?

Through a variety of exercises, we explored a specific set of tools to generate, analyze, communicate, and visualize architectural artifacts along with their effects and affects.

Animation and Architecture

This thesis project explores the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the architectural profession under the guidance of Matias del Campo and Sandra Manninger. It examines how AI challenges traditional architectural practices and whether it can foster unique creative sensibilities.

Drawing on Leon Battista Alberti’s paradigm, which positions the architect as the sole author through standard orthographic drawings, this project critiques the notion of architectural agency in light of emerging digital technologies. By integrating AI applications, it seeks to redefine how architects convey their intentions through visual abstraction and prototype reconstruction.

The selected AI technique, neural style transfer, merges content and style images to create new 2D outputs that maintain the original content while adopting artistic styles. This process allows for a collaboration between the designer's sensibilities and the AI's capabilities. The project uses a painting by Croatian artist Ivan Generalić to explore volumetric geometry and branching patterns, reflecting architectural influences throughout history.

The main software tools include ZBrush and its ShadowBox feature, which reconstructs 3D forms based on shadow projections. Users can create complex branching patterns through a masking technique, where black areas represent voids and white areas remain solid. This approach enables the generation of a new style-transferred 3D building while preserving original design intentions. After testing various styles, a specific branching pattern was chosen for its application to the building development in Xiong'an City, utilizing diagrammatic building drawings as the final input.

Architecture {AI}

Waterloo at Crossroads: The Street-corner Urbanism’ International Competition, 2018, Honourable Mentions

After centuries of development, Sydney has reached numerous milestones in its history. Population growth brings economic opportunities, creativity, and a labor force, but it also presents challenges such as housing and employment shortages. Green Square is an area targeted for renewal by the Sydney government to enhance the surrounding neighborhoods. In this new wave of urban revitalization, how can Waterloo and its residents effectively respond?

Urban Sponge Strategy
Just as sponges absorb water and release it under pressure, we can think of water as representing people, ideas, and resources, with sponges symbolizing the systems that manage these elements. By strategically distributing "sponges" throughout the city, we can create an invisible network of points and surfaces that regulate urban development and maintain stability under various conditions.

At the crossroads of Waterloo, this urban renewal offers an opportunity for the area to adapt to regional development and changing regulatory environments. The sponge strategy can help manage the pressures of population density, capital influx, and new ideas, allowing the city to slow its growth rate and maintain a balanced urban ecosystem. Additionally, these "sponges" can provide residents with spaces to contemplate their future amidst the complexities of social change.

Sponge at Crossroad

Red Beach , located in Dawa County, Panjin, Liaoning, China, is famous for its landscape featuring the red plant of Suaeda salsa of the Chenopodiaceae family. It is based in the biggest wetland and reed marsh in the world. The landscape is composed of shallow seas and tide-lands.The largest reed marsh in Asia is also located here, attracting many tourists. The red-crowned crane also reproduces here and it is also the endangered black-mouth gull's largest breeding area.More than 260 kinds of birds and 399 kinds of wild animals live here.
The region located on the semi-circular natural island called "Moon Island". Tourists are attracted to the Moon Island to see Suaeda salsa,birds,and other coastal species.Tourism has recently becomes a significant new contributor to the province's economy. The government has vigorously developed the tourism industry around the island.

The main focus of this design is on the environment-friendly using as well as tourist using.Through the analysis and processing of the tourism resources in the area, the most appropriate form of the island is integrated according to the needs of different tourists.Visitors can freely watch grass on the ground and wetland birds in the distance at multiple angles in this structure while reducing the area of the structure's contact with the ground means protecting more wetland plants.

Flying Cages

Pneumatic Origami Self Folding explores the intriguing possibilities of lightweight structures that can self-fold using pneumatic joints. This innovative approach leverages the principles of origami and pneumatics to create dynamic, adaptable forms that can respond to environmental stimuli. The project emphasizes not only the engineering challenges involved in developing such structures but also their practical applications, particularly as emergency shelters.

By utilizing lightweight materials and self-folding mechanisms, these structures can be easily transported and deployed in disaster-stricken areas, providing immediate shelter and protection. This exploration aims to redefine traditional notions of architecture and expand the potential for responsive design in emergency situations, highlighting the intersection of creativity, functionality, and sustainability. Through this research, we seek to demonstrate how advanced technologies can lead to innovative solutions for urgent humanitarian needs.

Pneumatic Origami Self Folding

Cat Lamp

"Treehouse" is a confidential tech campus project that envisions a vibrant urban context featuring four office complexes, one amenity building, and two garages. The design draws inspiration from the concept of a "village" node, honoring the rich history of the site while fostering a sense of community.

In response to the evolving work landscape post-COVID, this project emphasizes the creation of collaborative areas that invite people back to the office. By integrating these dynamic spaces, "Treehouse" aims to cultivate interaction and innovation, transforming the traditional workplace into a hub of creativity and connection.

Ruxin Xie