I’m Dr. Mania Aghaei Meibodi—an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning, Director of the Digital Architecture Research & Technologies (DART) Laboratory, and, by practice, a Swedish-licensed architect. My work sits at the intersection of computational design, artificial intelligence, data-driven modeling, and construction-scale robotic 3D printing. I develop AI-assisted generative design models and predictive, sensing-informed methods that connect the full chain—from design intent and simulation to toolpath planning, fabrication, assembly, and performance evaluation—so we can create solutions that address climatic challenges and reliably manufacture what we design.

At DART, my team and I advance generative computational design technologies and intelligent robotic construction systems to reinvent high-performance, next-generation structures and building elements. A core principle in my research is that technological development and architectural imagination must evolve together. The same advances that make predictive modeling, AI-enabled design, and robotic fabrication possible also require us to rethink what buildings can be—and to reimagine the geometric concept, new construction material, and performance goals of future building elements. My goal is to build foundational knowledge and scalable platforms for intelligent computational design and smart robotic 3D printing, enabling a new class of multifunctional, high-performance structures that are both feasible to fabricate and measurable in performance. This is demonstrated in multiple building elements: such as envelopes that actively reduce heat load, manage airflow, support rainwater runoff strategies, and increase biodiversity—where geometry and material distribution are tuned for performance, and fabrication is part of the intelligence of the system; or slabs and structural components that achieve maximum performance with minimal material, while opening opportunities to integrate additional functions—thermal regulation, acoustic behavior, sensing, or environmental exchange—directly into load-bearing building parts.