Johan Wijesinghe



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CVLast update Feb 2025

Professional Experiences



ETH Zürich – Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA) (Link)

Guest Faculty Teaching Assistant and AI Researcher for Studio Retsin (2024 – Present)

  • A research studio exploring the question of architecture in large quantities. Approach mass production using AI, digital technologies, and sustainable materials, tackling the challenges of building at scale.

  • Mentoring students in entrepreneurial models of architectural practice that engage automation and the construction process using AI and generative design and parametric modeling.

LEVER Architecture (Portland & Los Angeles)



Architect & Researcher (2020 – Present)
  • Part of research team at LEVER  for product development and market adoption of Mass timber for projects in Pacfic North West and Emerging markets. 

  • Part of design teams for performance-based projects, as a project designer interfacing with engineers, jurisdictions for prefabrication, and supply chain stakeholders.

  • Contributed to projects including the Kirkland Urban East Campus, University of Oregon Acoustic Lab, TDI Fire Testing Lab, and several large-scale housing developments.

  • Managed automation and BIM teams.

Department of Health Services - Housing For Health (Los Angeles)


Consltant (2020)
  • Provided data-driven insights construction timelines, financial risk modeling, and road map for prefabricated constructuion for affordable housing.

Gilles Retsin Architecture (London)
Architectal Deisnger and Computational Designer( 2018 - 2020)
  • Worked on competitions for Helsinki National Museum, and a as a comutationa designer for the Royal Academy of Art, and led management efforts with students and museum partners.

  • Assisted in workshops in Shanghai for Digital Futures.

EscherGuneWardena Architecture

(Los Angeles)  (2011 – Present, Part-Time)
Architectural Designer & Advisor 
Design & Project Development:
  • Contributed to design, project coordination, and construction planning across residential and cultural projects.
  • Worked on diverse projects that blend architecture, art, and community impact.
  • Gained hands-on experience in adaptive reuse, material research, and digital design tools



Education


 

University College London (UCL) - Bartlett
MSc Computational Design
2018 - 2019
  • Advisors: Sean Hanna, Khalid El-Ashry Disertation on Domain Transfering in Pretrained networks and in Generative Advisarial Networks in AI

  • Graduated with distinction

Southern California Institute of Architecture  

 Bachelors of Architecture (2012 - 2017))
  • Advisors: Casey Rehm,

  • Graduated with distinction
  • Sci-Arc exelence Scoloarship from 2012-2017

Universität für die Angewandte Kunst (Vienna , Austria)
Studio: Kazuyo SejimaVisiting Scholar – (Spring 2016)

Teaching Experience:


  • ENERGY TRUST OF OREGON - Net Zero Fellowship
    2024-2025 | with Jeff Stern (LEVER)
  • University of Oregon - Forest to Frame with Timothy Cooke

  • Digital Futures (Shanghai): Teaching Assistant to Gilles Retsin, teaching Hololens and digital fabrication.

  • Hopscotch Opera (SCI-Arc): Pavilion design and fabrication for a site-specific opera across Los Angeles.
  • Researcher & Data Modeling
    Modeled and compared assemblies to identify pathways toward net zero carbon developments.

    University of Oregon Seminar | Forest to Frame
    Eugene, OR |2023 |
    with Timothy Cooke (LEVER)
  • Teaching Assistant
  • Supported student research on timber supply chains, forest practices, and climate impacts.
    Guided design studies using UO’s Acoustic Lab as a case for long-span timber construction.

    NHERI Tall Wood Projects Seismic Testing
    2020–2023

    Documentation Assistant | with Jonathan Heppner (LEVER) of full-scale seismic testing of mass timber rocking wall and brace frame systems.
    Assisted in coordinating visual and technical documentation across interdisciplinary teams (LEVER, KPFF, NHERI)

    Domain Adaptation for Architectural Spatial Analysis & Generation
    Bartlett UCL | Advisor: Dr. Sean Hanna

    Evaluated GAN layer-wise adaptation across domains using auxiliary datasets
    Addressed generalization limits via the “projection problem” (Elman, UCSD)

    Digital Futures Workshop
    2019 / Tongji University

    Teaching Assistant to G. Retsin
    Led instruction in digital fabrication, AR workflows, and modular timber systems.
    Integrated design and real-time assembly processes

    Pop-Arch: Community Outreach Program
    Los Angeles | 2015–2017

    Organized annual design-build workshops for local high school students with Sci-Arc
    Taught fundamentals of spatial thinking, model-making, and visual storytelling

    Hopscotch A Sci-arc workshop: A Mobile Opera
    Los Angeles | 2015

    Contributed to pavilion design  documentation, and construction
    An experimental opera company staged across 24 moving vehicles throughout the city

    Bartlett Journal Vol. 10 | University College London | “Algorithms Are Here to Stay”
    2018-2019

    Curated and edited academic contributions on architecture, computation, and emerging digital practice
    Explored the role of automation, data, and ethics in computational design culture

    Publication: “Binary Shelter: Notes on the Unhoused”
    Underscore Journal Vol. 3: Binary | 2016

    Visual essay examining temporary housing, spatial precarity, and the architecture of displacement in Los Angeles

    Venice Architecture Biennale
     “Reporting from the Front”
    2016

    Contributed to a speculative project on Inujima, Japan, as part of an K. Sejima visiting studio at University of Applied Art Vienna.
    Project explored post-industrial futures and was later exhibited at Japan House in LondonRoyal Academy of Art (London): Pavilion design and student constuction engagement.

  • Lectuer: Woodbury 2025: Manufacted wood products and the future of timber consturction
  • Lecture: Forest to Frame: ETH ZURICH
  • Lecture: AI and Details

Languages & Interests

Languages: English (fluent), German (basic), Sinhala (basic)

Interests: AI, forestry, product development, hiking, clothing design, Cooking.

Skills & Expertise

Development

  • Financial modeling & impact assessment for real estate, infrastructure, and sustainability ventures
  • Innovation Ecosystems – evaluating scalability, R&D funding, and industry adoption of material system

Tech & Digital Fabrication

  • Computational Modeling: Rhino + Grasshopper, Revit + Dynamo, AutoCAD (10+ years)
  • AI & Generative Design Workflows: Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, Pix2Pix
  • Prototyping & Automation: Robotics, Digital Twin Modeling, Industrialized Construction
  • Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA): Tally, EC3, e360
  • Carbon Tracking & Environmental Impact Analysis
  • Supply Chain Optimization & Circular Economy
  • Data Science & Visualization: Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, TableauPython, C#

Creative & UX Tools

  • Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects)
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