| Markus Braach studied achitecture at the university of Kaiserslautern in the 90s. As a student he worked in different offices on design and visualization of architecture competitions. Due to his knowledge of several programming languages he became a member of the research group for media experimental design (MEXE). This research project, that was initiated by Prof. Dr. Bernd Streich and supervised by Oliver Fritz, was focused on finding new ways of using computer technology in the design process. Inspired by self-organizing principles in our natural environment, like flocking behaviour, Markus Braach developed computer programmes to generate structures, forms and processes that resemble urban and architectural design. In 2000 Markus finished his MEXE projects with his diploma work 'Formfindung durch diskrete Systeme', supervised by Professor Dr. Ludger Hovestadt and Prof. Markus Neppl. Together with Oliver Fritz and Prof. Dr. Ludger Hovestadt, he started the project 'Kaisersrot', a cooperation with Kees Christiaanse Architects and Planners, taking the ideas of the research to real urban planning projects. In the end of 2000 Markus started as an assistant at ETH Zuerich and helped to establish Prof. Dr. Hovestadt's new leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer | | Chair for Computer-Aided Architectural Design (CAAD). In his teaching activities Markus presented the ideas of programming and design to the students. In different courses he taught scripting languages like Flash Actionscript, Vectorscript, MAYA embedded language, XML/XSLT, SQUEAK and Java. Besides the main aspect, self-organization and adaptive structures, other courses were dealing with different topics like parametric design, mass customization, computer aided manufacturing and reorganization of historical data. With his dissertation work centered on Computer Aided Urban Design, Markus collaborates with architects like KCAP, Herzog and de Meuron and Sauerbruch Hutton. By optimizing urban planning processes, building layout, shapes and construction in real architectural projects, the results of his research were verified and improved and never lost the focus on reality. When in 2005 Markus worked with the Chairs' designtoproduction team, producing milling code out of computer generated structures, his programming work finally covers the whole range of scales from the urban plan to the construction detail. |
Markus Braach
braachi5.gif 