For as long as I can remember, I have been surrounded in one way or another by activities of architecture and construction, not in the least because I am the youngest son of a master-carpenter who owned and ran a carpentry firm. However, teenage boys of my generation were intrigued by home-computers, challenging each other with their self-taught programming skills. I set out to study construction and architecture, with the idea initially to get into the construction industry myself. But soon I saw the challenge of integrating the potential of computers in architecture and construction. After a solid education in structural engineering (BEng), I thus continued my study on the topic of Building Information Technology (MSc), got a job in CAAD development, and completed a PhD with a thesis on information models for the support of architectural design.

Motivation

Over the past ten years, many research topics have caught my interest that can be best captured using the terms collaborative design and computational design. I am intrigued and driven by the opportunities that new technologies and media offer to create better designs and like to work on projects that cross creativity with information technology. Sometimes these are projects that aim to design innovation, other times the aim is to innovate design.

I really enjoy teaching - it's a pleasure to work with students who are eager to learn, seeing them develop and surprise you every time. I've never taught a class in which I didn't learn something significant myself.

"O professor que deixa de ser estudante deixa de ser professor."
 - Augusto Guimarães