At SUTD Adaptive Design Lab we develop digital processes and design solutions for the adaptation of the urban built environment to the inter-linked goals of resilience and sustainability.
Our expertise in developing digital models and analysing their outputs allows us to support informed decision-making for the design of the adaptive city. These models and practices allow us to envision scenarios for urban futures and pro-actively take steps toward resilient, carbon neutral outcomes.
Managing design complexity
Managing complexity is a primary challenge we address in our research. An adaptive city must seek to navigate tradeoffs between environmental, social and economic performance, while rapidly moving the bar toward carbon neutrality. Applying advanced techniques of analytics, design search and automation allows us to provide clear insights that are useful to non-experts, but build on open, replicable and understandable processes. We do not create black-box solutions.
We create insightful digital design tools and contribute meaningful architecture and urban design.
Our Work
We publish and share our work worldwide, with publications and conference presentations in North America, Europe and throughout Asia. Check out our recent publications here. Upcoming lectures and workshops are announced via LinkedIn.
F. Peter Ortner is Assistant Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at Singapore University of Technology and Design SUTD. His research examines architecture’s contribution to urban resilience as well as the possibilities of computational design to engage the multiple scales of the city. He holds a PhD in Architecture and Sciences of the City from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design where he was recipient of the Faculty Design Award, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with distinction from Yale University. He has practiced architecture in Geneva, Switzerland and Boston, Massachusetts.
peter[at]fportner[dot]com
Elif Esra Aydin is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Architecture and Sustainable Design pillar at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). She completed here doctoral studies in 2022 at SUTD, with advisors Bige Tuncer (SUTD) and Alstan Jakubiec (University of Toronto). Her thesis was titled, ”Pyramid Urban Model: A Multi-scalar Performance-driven Urban Design Approach.
Jing Zhi Tay is a PhD student in Architecture and Sustainable Design pillar at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) since 2021. His research interest is in application of optimization models for design space exploration, combining disciplines from machine learning and visualization techniques. His current research is in developing a simulation based urban design process, augmented by automated computational search based on genetic algorithms with a decision-making framework fine-tuned for urban design in Singapore.
Anna Claudia Yenardi is a research assistant in SUTD with a master’s degree in Architecture from NUS where she wrote her thesis on a web-based, 3D building participatory design tool.
Zebin Chen is a research assistant involved in a joint project between ISTD pillar and ASD pillar in SUTD, with working experience as an architectural designer in the past. He received his master’s degree in urban design from NUS in 2020.
Praveen Govindarajan is a PhD student in Architecture and Sustainable Design pillar at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) since 2023. His research interest is in architectural design generation and evaluation for net zero buildings, and he works directly with the Net Zero Futures Lab.
