The Cluster of Excellence IntCDC warmly welcomes Tenure-Track Prof. Dr. Thomas Wortmann
We are very exited that Thomas Wortmann has joined the Cluster of Excellence "Integrative Computional Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC)" and the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) as Tenure-Track Professor for "Computing in Architecture" at the University of Stuttgart.
Thomas Wortmann develops computational design methods to support the development of resource- and energy efficient buildings. Based on his previous research on optimization with only one performance objective (e.g., energy efficiency, daylight quality or resource expenditure), he currently focuses on the optimization, visualization and exploration of multi-objective design spaces and fitness landscapes. To support this exploration, Wortmann uses machine learning to quickly estimate the results of time-consuming simulations, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In the future, he plans to also include aspects of fabrication and construction in these design spaces. The data structures and data flows that are necessary for this inclusion are another, important topic of research.
Within IntCDC Prof. Thomas Wortmann has started to establish, together with Prof. Melanie Herschel from the Institute for Parallel and Distributed Systems (IPVS) at the University of Stuttgart, a round table discussion on the topic of "Data Strategy." The focus will be on how to connect diverse participants within fabrication and construction processes. A research proposal with Prof. Steffen Staab, also at IPVS and head of the Analytic Computing department, is to follow.
Future of us pavilion at the anniversary exhibition in Singapore; Image: Oddinary Studios/Advanced Architecture Laboratory
Thomas Wortmann graduated in architecture at the University of Kassel, where he specialized early on computational design methods. After several years as a project architect at NOX, Lars Spuybroek’s practice in Rotterdam, he deepened this specialization with a Master of Science in Design and Computation at MIT. In 2018, he received his PhD in Architecture and Sustainable Design from Singapore University of Technology and Design, a new university founded in cooperation with MIT. His PhD thesis on simulation-based optimization and interactive design space exploration received the university’s “Best Dissertation” award. Before joining the Cluster, Thomas taught at National University of Singapore and held a position at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China. Among computational designers, he is known especially as the lead developer of Opossum, an award-winning, machine-learning based optimization tool that has been downloaded over 5.000 times and is used by architects and engineers around the world.
More information on his professional expertise