Marziah Louise Zad

Instructor, School of Architecture and Design | University of Oregon

Co-Founder of UDA based in Tehran, Iran
 

BArch, University of Tehran, Iran 2010

MArch, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Spain 2013
 

Instructor of architectural design studio, seminar courses and digital design media focused on research-based design processes, generative design strategies, emergent technologies, digital tools and intelligent cities.

My design and research objectives are rooted in the belief that the exploration and application of new technologies for the sake of society is becoming increasingly relevant as we move forward in this digital age. I am interested in the intersection of new technologies in design and their impact on the local to global sense of culture and identity. My academic and professional pursuits follow an investigative process with the aim of discovering emergent systems which seed generative design strategies. My objective is to give agency to the design process through a systematic exploration of generative strategies using digital tools, and to contextualize the resulting design in identity and locality.

As a graduate of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), I have specialized training in intelligent cities and generative design strategies. My interest in natural light weight structures and their architectural application has led to an ongoing research agenda focused on minimal surface structures in architecture. The leading outcome of my efforts has been the development of a research-based design process which focuses on the exploration of mathematical and material geometry systems as both a generative framework and agents of design. This process results in integrative design projects that simultaneously respond to diverse and complex inputs and criteria.