Johan Wijesinghe
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Architecture in Large Quantities
Zurich SwiterlandVisiting Studio at ETH Zurich’s - Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA) I co-lead with Gilles Retsin, in collaboration with Cristiano Aries Teixeira (Chair of Building Technologies, BUK). The studio investigates how architecture can be designed and produced at the scale of thousands — shifting from one‑off buildings to adaptive systems deeply integrated with manufacturing, supply chains, and business models.
Set against the backdrop of the housing and climate crises, the studio frames scale as a design condition that shapes form, performance, and economy. Students develop spatial systems rooted in prefabricated timber construction, exploring how AI, computational design, and circular building strategies can generate variation while remaining manufacturable and low‑carbon.
The work moves fluidly between abstraction and materialisation: datasets are structured to encode architectural logic, AI models generate systemic variations, and these are tested through fabrication sequences and physical prototypes. Projects have ranged from scalable housing strategies for 40+ infill sites in Zurich to algorithmic densification proposals for post‑disaster recovery in Altadena, California, each tailored to local contexts while connected to global platforms for design and production.
Architecture in Large Quantities operates as both a design lab and a think tank for new modes of practice. It asks fundamental questions: What should remain human? What can be automated? And how can these forces push each other forward? By linking conceptual design to manufacturing and market strategies, the studio positions architecture as a driver of innovation across cultural, environmental, and economic systems.
Process
Adaptive Architecture:
West to encourage investment in sustainable forestry practices, underserved communities, and tribal groups for the company operating in North America.
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Interior Design
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Building Data
Site Area:
Gross floor