This lecture will present a computational, data-driven approach to urban design and explore how cities should be planned in the future. He will outline the methodology, its application in real planning projects, explore the human aspect of designing with data (from qualitative metrics to stakeholder engagement,) and the need for performance-based zoning regulations.
Luc Wilson is a senior associate principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox and the director of KPF Urban Interface (ui.kpf.com) a think-tank focused on urban analytics and technology development. As his role as director of KPFui he has developed a unique data-driven design methodology and applied it on the design of over 300 projects globally ranging from master plans to rezonings to supertall towers, with a focus on computational urban design, including working with Sidewalk Labs on their Toronto project and helping the NYC Department of City Planning with the recent East Midtown Rezoning. His work has been published in both academic and popular publications from Architectural Science Review and the Economist to Wired and the New York Times. Luc was selected to as one of the Commercial Observer’s “2016 Top Young Professionals: Top Architects, Engineers and Contractors.” Luc is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP. Previously he was an Adjunct Course Advisor in the Center for Data Science at NYU and a Guest Critic at Cornell University teaching an architectural design studio. He is a member of the Urban Design Forum and on the planning committee for the Municipal Arts Society.