At the inaugural AMAD Workshop earlier this fall, five interdisciplinary teams—SOM, BIG, LAVA, HKS, and Ennead Architects—joined hosts SPACE/CRAFT Worldwide, Inc., Cemex, and Thornton Tomasetti to explore the future of advanced manufacturing and materials in architecture.
Each team pursued a distinct line of inquiry, collectively advancing carbon-conscious casting through the integration of computational design, material innovation, and advanced manufacturing.
The Goal
Rethink how digital tools, advanced materials, and manufacturing workflows can align to produce more sustainable, expressive, and efficient architectural systems.
The Outcome
A series of full-scale concrete prototypes.
Following an intensive 12-week design phase, the workshop culminated in five days of hands-on collaboration. Teams iterated directly through making, refining geometry, surface articulation, and performance with each cast. With few precedents to draw from, challenges were resolved collaboratively and in real time on the shop floor.
Projects included:
- X-Cast — An adaptable universal formwork system using a foldable UHPC Resilia mix
- BIG BLOCK — A novel building block combining load-bearing Resilia and insulating Insularis performance
- Orca — A one-ton kinetic sculptural furniture piece using a specialized UHPC formulation.
- Resilience Hub — A cementitious composite prototype leveraging Pervia, a proprietary material designed for water absorption, channeling, and plant growth, integrated with Resilia for structural load-bearing
- Light Speed — A flexible metal + Resilia UHPC composite panel system developed around a reusable master formwork
Key Takeaways
✅ Design + Manufacturing Integration
Innovation accelerates when architects, engineers, material scientists, and fabricators design together from the outset.
✅ Digital Fabrication as Sustainability
Precision-driven workflows reduce waste, material use, and embodied carbon.
✅ Experimentation Builds Culture
Hands-on collaboration accelerates learning, trust, and shared authorship across disciplines.
Participating Teams & Projects
BIG
Project: BIG BLOCK
Team: Ryan Harvey, Casey Tucker, Seung Hyo Chang, Ben Caldwell
SOM
Project: Orca
Team: Colin Koop, Christoph Timm, Neil Katz, Jacqueline Li, David Rodriguez, Charles Lent, Hasan Uretmen, Patrick Ward, Camilo Reinales
HKS
Project: X-Cast
Team: Ali Tabatabaei Ghomi, John Mikesh, Arek Mazurek, Sooik Cho, Chad Porter
LAVA
Project: Resilience Hub
Team: Emily Sardo, Alara Ata, Lukas Utzig, Hossein Maghami, Cole Bernstein, Ellie Galata, Shazwan Mazlan
Ennead Architects
Project: Light Speed
Team: Gayatri Desai, Robinson Strong, Nazanin Modares, Mia Tsiamis, Yudou Huang
Workshop Hosts
SPACE/CRAFT Worldwide · Cemex Global R&D · Thornton Tomasetti
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