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SOUTHFIELD–Architectural research by two Lawrence Technological University professors has been selected for a prestigious global architecture show in Venice, Italy, that is held only once every two years.
The research collaboration of Sara Codarin, Ph.D., and Masataka Yoshikawa, assistant professors of architecture at Lawrence Tech, will be showcased from May 10 through Nov. 23 at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition 2025 Biennale Architettura. Codarin and Yoshikawa’s research was displayed at the Arsenale, a complex of construction sites where the pre-industrial-age Serenissima fleets were built, and which, since 1980, has become an exhibition site of La Biennale.
An example of the work by LTU architecture assistant professors Sara Codarin, Ph.D., and Masataka Yoshikawa that will be showcased from May 10 through Nov. 23 at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition 2025 Biennale Architettura in Venice, Italy.
This year’s exhibition, themed “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective,” was curated by architect, engineer, and author Carlo Ratti, a professor of architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who put out a call for submissions related to technology in architecture.
Codarin’s and Yoshikawa’s exhibition proposal, “Fabricated Combines,” was selected because they were one of the first to convert 2D (AI) into a 3D workflow. Their research examines the use of generative AI (artificial intelligence) in architectural design.
“We work in different software and were curious about how they could come together to create models. AI starts with two dimensions. With text prompts, we can craft workflow sequences as well as turn two-dimensional images into three-dimensional speculative architectural space,” said Codarin and Yoshikawa.
Yoshikawa earned a Master of Architecture in 2017 from the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Prior to joining LTU, he was a design professional at PLY+ architecture, urbanism, design, where he researches, designs, and fabricates residential and institutional projects. Yoshikawa’s research interrogates the contemporary design process and the role of architects’ design sensibility in this digital era by establishing a design workflow using 3D simulations and modeling, and physical and virtual models through VR, MR, and digital fabrication tools.
Codarin completed her Ph.D. at the Department of Architecture of the University of Ferrara in Italy where her doctoral research investigated robotic manufacturing for the conservation of cultural heritage. She researched innovative methods to update design workflows with a technology-driven approach. Her experiments simulated on-site robo-fabrication processes to produce customized units for the recovery of damaged buildings. Her work is tied to broader economic, technological, and social changes that will affect the building culture in the future.
Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is one of only 13 private, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932, and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best in the Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
This link provides access to photos of the Codarin/Yoshikawa “Fabricated Combines” installation.
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