Instructors

Design Upgrade

Saqib Aziz completed his studies at the University of Arts Berlin with a Dipl.-Ing. degree with honors in architecture. His diploma thesis explored cutting edge research topics in complex and algorithmic modelling in combination with digital crafting and virtual reality. After his graduation, he started to work as a scientific researcher at the University of Arts in Berlin, where he along with other research endeavors also teaches Rhinoceros & Grasshopper to students for now over 5 years. From 2015 to 2020 he has worked as an architect and complex modeling & environmental design specialist at gmp- and HENN architects located in Berlin, Germany. Currently, he is working as a Research Associate / Ph.D. Candidate at the structural and computational design unit KET at the University of Arts in Berlin. He Founded the e-learning platform Design Upgrade in 2019 and also works as a design to fabrication contractor for a diverse clientele. To see a few of his professional work/installations/publications please visit the projects page here on this site or follow him on social media pages such as Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn.

Instructors

Design Upgrade

Diego Apellániz is a structural engineer and computational design specialist. He graduated from the Technical University of Madrid in 2014. He spent three years in the Spanish engineering office FHECOR before moving to Berlin in 2017. He currently works for the office Bollinger+Grohmann, where he is co-manager of the performative building group, and for the University of the Arts in Berlin, where he works as teacher and research associate. Some of the projects he has been involved in include the canopy structure for the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid and the award-winning masonry vault of Solano Benítez for the Venice Biennale. His research focuses on machine learning applications that can lead to a more sustainable building industry. He has developed several professional plugins and computational design tools, which can be found in Food4Rhino and his Github page.

Instructors

Design Upgrade

Pietro Todisco studied architecture at the Beuth Hochschule in Berlin. After completing his studies, he worked as a 3D visualizer for WWE Solar and later as a software consultant for architects and engineers at Mensch + Maschine. Over the course of his career, Pietro accepted the challenge of introducing BIM in combination with Revit in the newly created role of BIM Manager at Henn Architekten in Berlin, Munich, and Beijing as well as Senior Consultant with DeuBIM. He led the Revit and BIM standardization developed the training concept and took over the training of BIM Coordinators, modelers, and BIM managers. In addition, he supported the planning teams in their daily work, developed various data-driven processes, and coordinated internal and external project teams in their BIM workflows. Furthermore, he introduced various stakeholders on how to implement Building Information Modelling in their respective companies and projects. As the founder of COPLI CONSULTING, Pietro supports companies in the construction and real estate industry in their efforts of digital transformation. He also held seminars and workshops of the VDI on the subject of BIM and the digitization of the industry.