Computational Design in Architecture at CDFAM
Computational design in architecture, from façade systems to foresight frameworks, takes the spotlight in Amsterdam—while continuing to shape innovation from high-rise facades down to performance footwear
As computational design becomes increasingly central to how we conceive, simulate, and fabricate the built environment, the architectural scale continues to provide both a proving ground and a launch point.
At CDFAM Amsterdam 2025, architecture returns to the foreground—not only as a field that demands advanced geometric and performance logic, but also as a discipline that exports its methods into footwear, medical devices, and mobility systems.
This year’s program builds on a growing body of presentations across past CDFAM events, highlighting how architects are leading innovation across scales and sectors.
Architectural Scale Presentations at CDFAM Amsterdam
The architectural scale will take a central role at CDFAM Amsterdam 2025, with keynote speaker Mathew Vola, Arup Fellow and Director, leading the discussion.
With over two decades of experience across Europe, Asia, and Australia, Vola has helped shape next-generation buildings using computational methods and advanced material systems.
In addition to his project work, Mathew Vola has been instrumental in building Arup’s computational design capability from the ground up. Starting with no dedicated team, he initiated and scaled a knowledge-sharing program that now connects hundreds of computational designers across Arup’s global offices.
This internal network supports both local innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration on complex projects.
Some of the outcomes of this initiative were highlighted in the CDFAM Berlin 2024 presentation by Rick Titulaer, who demonstrated how Arup’s integrated workflows are reshaping structural and environmental design practices.
At CDFAM, he will share insights from Arup’s computational design platform, inForm, and the broader integration of digital tools into sustainable structural design.
Other presentations at the architectural scale include:
- Tiffany Cheng – Cornell University
Bioinspired and Biobased 4D-Printing for Adaptive Building Facades
Exploring how hygromorphic materials and computational fabrication enable climate-responsive architecture using cellulosic, biobased materials—translating plant-like motion into scalable, sustainable facade systems.
- Verena Vogler of McNeel Europe will present recent developments in Rhino and Grasshopper, highlighting R&D initiatives and the release of a new plugin for ecological analysis. Grasshopper continues to be foundational in computational design workflows, and this update will focus on expanding its capabilities for environmental performance.
- Dr. Vittoria Laghi from the University of Bologna will explore how topology optimization and metal 3D printing can support a new generation of green steel construction. Her work focuses on combining structural engineering, metallurgy, and computational design to reduce material use in digitally fabricated steel components.
- Julia Barashkov and Ben Drusinsky of Urban Futures Lab will introduce a framework for strategic urban foresight. Their approach combines computational trend analysis with cultural data to support more adaptive, resilient urban planning strategies in the face of accelerating social and environmental change.
- Dr. Luca Breseghello of DTU will present recent developments in lightweight structural systems using 3D concrete printing. His work focuses on reducing the environmental impact of slabs and beams through stress-based material placement and structural optimization. Life-cycle assessments and physical testing validate the performance of these 3DCP elements.
Previous Presentations on Computational Design in Architecture at CDFAM
Across recent editions of CDFAM—from New York to Berlin—the architectural scale has served as a lens for examining how computational methods are transforming the design, performance, and fabrication of buildings.
Presentations have explored how architects and engineers are building robust digital infrastructures for geometry, integrating environmental logic, and enabling new material possibilities at scale.
At CDFAM NYC 2023, keynote speaker Ronald Rael introduced Muddy Robots, a research initiative that combines robotic additive manufacturing with earthen materials to develop sustainable and affordable housing.
His work reframed computational design not just as a tool for efficiency, but as a platform for material activism—linking ancient practices with advanced automation.
This theme evolved in CDFAM NYC 2024, where Keyan Rahimzadeh of Formulate presented Procedural BIM, showing how architectural systems can be encoded as metadata networks, enabling the design and fabrication of 23,000 unique cold-bent glass panels for a high-rise façade.
Similarly, Madeleine Eggers of KPF delivered a deep dive into the foundational logic underpinning computational geometry in architecture. Rather than focusing on novel tools or forms, Eggers revealed how five elemental methods—data branching, point sorting, plane-based calculation, cross-referencing, and surface rebuilding—form the core of KPF’s design computation approach.
By standardizing and scaling these operations, her team is able to manage the geometric complexity of global megaprojects while maintaining design fidelity and responsiveness across changing project conditions.
To me, this is computation’s value proposition: huge projects like KPF’s require a lot of coordination, optimization, and documentation, so computational design allows us to speed up design decisions, validate them quickly, and proactively anticipate change.
Madeleine Eggers, Computational Design Specialist at KPF
Also in New York, Sean Turner and Dauphin Flores of Henderson Engineers outlined their method for transforming legacy engineering workflows into modular, reusable computational systems. By mapping design logic into graph databases, they enabled automation, traceability, and optimization across large-scale infrastructure tools.
At CDFAM Berlin 2024, ecological and systems intelligence took center stage. Verena Vogler of McNeel Europe introduced a Rhino/Grasshopper plugin developed through the EU-funded ECOLOPES project, enabling ecological envelope design for non-human species.
Gabriel Garcia of Royal Haskoning DHV explored the use of machine learning and 3D pathfinding to optimize MEP systems in large buildings—treating infrastructure as a computational design problem with direct architectural consequences.
Preety Anand of BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) presented her work on the space-defining, timber structural system at Zurich Airport. Her presentation focused not only on rationalizing complex geometry, but also on the need for interoperability and holistic tool development that can respond flexibly across project phases. The Raumfachwerk project exemplifies how computational design can address both geometric complexity and fabrication logic simultaneously—particularly when dealing with large-scale timber systems subject to evolving structural and performance constraints.
Rick Titulaer of Arup shared a detailed case study from the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, where glare reduction and panel rationalization were achieved through large-scale sun-path simulation and parallel computing.
His talk illustrated the institutional knowledge-sharing infrastructure that has allowed Arup to apply these techniques globally—an effort led in part by Mathew Vola, who will deliver the keynote at CDFAM Amsterdam 2025. Vola not only developed Arup’s inForm platform, but also built the firm’s global computational design network from scratch, now supporting hundreds of designers worldwide.
When I started in 2016, parametric design tools like Grasshopper, were only used by a few people within Arup, whereas now we have a network of more than 800 people.
Rick Titulaer – ARUP
This trajectory—from embedded geometry methods and data-driven workflows to ecological reasoning and platform-scale collaboration—sets the stage for the upcoming architectural sessions in Amsterdam. The work of Vola, Vogler, Laghi, Breseghello, and Urban Futures Lab reflects a deepening integration of computation into not just the shape of architecture, but its logic, construction, and cultural context.
Scaling Down Architectural Thinking
Importantly, many of the architectural thinkers who present at CDFAM are also extending their methods into entirely different domains. The core expertise architects develop—spatial reasoning, parametric modeling, material performance, and cross-disciplinary integration—is increasingly applied to the design of everything from footwear and medical devices to aerospace and automotive systems.
A clear example is Onur Yüce Gün, a trained architect whose work at New Balance has brought computational thinking into the development of advanced athletic footwear.
His presentations at past CDFAM events show how architectural training in generative design, structural optimization, and fabrication-aware workflows can inform innovation far beyond buildings.
As computational design continues to transcend traditional disciplines, architects remain at the forefront of its evolution—scaling their methods across materials, industries, and scales.
Whether you work in architecture, product design, aerospace, medical technology, software, or advanced manufacturing, CDFAM Amsterdam 2025 offers a rare opportunity to engage with the leading edge of computational design across disciplines.
Join us to learn from experts shaping everything from high-performance building systems and ecological simulations to structural lattices, custom footwear, and AI-driven workflows.
With a single-track program designed to foster deep exchange, CDFAM brings together professionals and researchers who are not only advancing their own fields—but redefining the relationships between them. Register now to connect with a global community applying computation to design at all scales.
