IN-PERSON MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY. SECTION A
Abstract
Point clouds are well established in visualization and AI-driven processes, typically supporting surface-based analysis and representation. When deployed as volumetric design elements, they address core concerns of architectural education: material organization, spatial logics, and boundary negotiations. Cloud Diffusion presents a research-led pedagogical framework that integrates AI-driven volumetric point-cloud workflows into early-stage design. Point clouds operate as primary geometric data structures, encoding density, hierarchy, spatial ambiguity, negotiating solid-void relations, material inference, and spatial sequencing rather than relying on predetermined formal outcomes. A core component is a student-built dataset of more than 200 canonical houses, annotated across spatial organization, circulation, interior-exterior thresholds, and material categories. Serving simultaneously as a reference system and as training input for AI pipelines, the dataset grounds processes of curation, annotation, and computational transformation. Learners develop shared spatial vocabularies as they contribute to a collectively built design knowledge base. Methodologically, the framework integrates volumetric point-cloud modeling, semantic labeling, AI-driven generative procedures, and iterative design evaluation into a reproducible pipeline. It incorporates a physical-to-digital twin process, slicing-based encodings of architectural characteristics, style modulation, and a collaborative modeling interface. Together, these components establish workflows for re-articulating volumetric data in line with design intent. Across these workflows, students develop explicit competencies in structuring, encoding, and transforming architectural information, while implicitly acquiring an embodied understanding of spatial logic, tectonic negotiation, and volumetric articulation. Transitions between analog, digital, and AI-mediated reinterpretation foster reflective design literacy.
Johannes Schlusche is a PhD candidate, researcher, and lecturer at the Institute for Structure and Design (i.sd) at the University of Innsbruck, where he is part of the Robotic Research Lab. His research, conducted within the SFB subproject Computational Immediacy, investigates AI-assisted design workflows, volumetric point-cloud modeling, and multi-scalar robotic fabrication. His design work has been exhibited internationally, including contributions to the Venice Biennale (Italy) and the Tallinn Architecture Biennale (Estonia).
Shervin Rasoulzadeh is a PhD student and researcher at TU Wien (Vienna), affiliated with the Center for Geometry and Computational Design (GCD) within the Faculty of Informatics. His academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Applications and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Tehran.
Kristina Schinegger is a Professor of Structure and Design at the University of Innsbruck and Principal Investigator of the SFB subproject Computational Immediacy. She is co-founder of soma architecture, whose work has been internationally exhibited, including at the Venice and Tallinn Architecture Biennales. Schinegger previously taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) and TU Vienna and served as Dean of Studies at Innsbruck’s Faculty of Architecture. Her research focuses on computational design, material experimentation, and emerging volumetric and AI-assisted workflows for early-stage architectural design
Stefan Rutzinger is Professor for Structure and Design and Head of the i.sd research group at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Innsbruck. Since 2023, he also served as Head of the Department of Design. He is Principal Investigator in the SFB Project Advanced Computational Design and co-project leader of the SFB subproject Computational Immediacy. As a co-founder of soma architecture, his work has been featured in major exhibitions, including the Venice Architectural Biennale. He has held academic positions at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and Vienna, TU Vienna, and the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL London.
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Friday 26th June, 2026