Innochain

Anja Jonkhans (Coordinator)

 

The InnoChain ETN network is a shared research training environment examining how advances in digital design tools challenge building culture enabling sustainable, informed and materially smart design solutions. The network aims to train a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers with a strong industry focus that can effect real changes in the way we think, design and build our physical environment. The program investigates the extended digital chain as a particular opportunity for interdisciplinary design collaboration. Challenging the traditional thinking of design as a linear process of incremental refinement, InnoChain identifies three axes of design innovation potential communication, simulation and materialization appearing as distributed and interdisciplinary activities across the design chain. Situating feedback between design processes as a key concern for developing holistic and integrated design methods, the network will develop new interdisciplinary design methods that integrate advanced simulation and interface with material fabrication. With a strong inter-sector focus, InnoChain connects “research in practice” with “research in academia”.

 

Assembling 6 internationally recognized academic research environments leading research into computational design in architecture and engineering and 14 innovation pioneering industry partners from architecture, engineering, design software development and fabrication, the program will establish a shared training platform for 15 early stage researchers. The network creates a structured training program focused on supervision of individual research projects, an inter-sector secondment program as well as collective research events including workshop-seminars, colloquia, summer school and research courses that provide a unique opportunity for young researchers to obtain new knowledge and skills positioning them between strong innovative research practice and influential industrial impact.

 

 

The academic partners

 

CITA, Centre for IT and Architecture, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture. Professor Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen and Associate Professor Martin Tamke

Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Professor Bob Sheil

ITKE, Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, University of Stuttgart. Professor Jan Knippers

IOA, Institute of Architecture, University of Applied Arts, Vienna. Professor Klaus Bollinger

Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Professor Ulrika Karlson

IAAC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). Professor Manuel Gausa, Professor Eduard Bru, Associate Professor Areti Markopoulou

 

 

The industry partners

 

Foster + Partners Limited, White Arkitekter AB, BIG, HENN GmbH, ROK GmbH, Cloud 9 SL, Buro Happold Limited, str.ucture GmbH, designtoproduction GmbH, Smith Innovation, Blumer-Lehmann AG, S-Form, Factum Arte Desarrollos Digitales SL, McNeel Europe SL

 

 

Webpage: http://innochain.net

Funded by the European Union – Horizon 2020