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Martin Bechthold awarded the 2014 ACADIA Innovative Research Award of Excellence

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design is pleased to announce that Martin Bechthold, Professor of Architecture Technology and Co-Director of the Doctor of Design Program, was honored with the 2014 ACADIA Innovative Research Award of Excellence.

Bechthold received a Diplom-Ingenieur degree in architecture from the Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule in Aachen, Germany, and a Doctor of Design Degree from the GSD. He is a registered architect in Germany and has practiced in London, Paris, and Hamburg. During this period he was associated with firms such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Santiago Calatrava, and von Gerkan, Marg & Partner.

Bechthold’s research broadly looks at material and fabrication technology as a catalyst of innovation for design practice. In 2010 he founded the GSD’s Design Robotics Group (DRG), a group of faculty, research associates, and students that pursues sponsored and other research projects. DRG’s current research focuses on integrating robotic technology into fabrication and construction processes, developing advanced material systems in collaboration with industry partners and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, and understanding problems of lifecycle design in (building) products.