The Grasshopper Paradox - Tools Agnostic Mind-set

 

The recording of our Educator’s Lab webinar: The Grasshopper Paradox - Tools Agnostic Mind-Set is now available!

In this session, Dr. Milad Showkatbakhsh, Director of AA EmTech, turns a seemingly contradictory idea on its head: To truly master any tool, you must first be free of attachment to it.

Dr. Showkatbakhsh argues that architects are no longer sculptors of form; they are editors of data. He shows how platforms like Grasshopper become truly powerful not when you learn their menus, but when you've already learned to think computationally: breaking complex design challenges into modular, solvable processes the way nature has always done.

If you teach design, practice it, or wonder where architecture is heading, this is a must-watch.

Watch the video now...

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The Grasshopper Paradox – Tool Agnostic Mind-set

The Educator's Lab Webinars

The Grasshopper Paradox - Tools Agnostic Mind-set

Thursday, April 16, 2026 - 4:00 PM CEST

In this lecture, Dr. Milad Showkatbakhsh, Director of AA EmTech, explores the evolving role of the architect through what he terms The Grasshopper Paradox. While the contemporary designer must strive to be entirely tool-agnostic to survive a rapidly shifting technological landscape, a platform like Grasshopper remains the most vital vehicle for achieving that goal. 

The talk centers on computational thinking, breaking down complex architectural challenges into modular and solvable processes. By merging nature's evolutionary logic with machine intelligence, Dr.Showkatbakhsh shows how AA EmTech's concept of a Digital-Physical Continuum bridges the gap between material constraints and digital extension. Architects, he suggests, are shifting from being sculptors of form to editors of data, using tools like Grasshopper as intelligent design canvases in a data-rich environment. 

Referencing his AD Magazine feature From Genome to G-Code, he advocates for teaching computational logic over software skills, emphasizing long-term adaptability. Ultimately, the lecture argues that while tools and platforms will inevitably come and go, the resilience of the architectural discipline lies in cultivating a community of problem-solvers who can translate the complex mathematics of the natural world into the language of the machine.

About the speaker:

Dr. Milad Showkatbakhsh is an architect, educator, and researcher specializing in computational design and emergent technologies. He is the Director of the Emergent Technologies and Design [EmTech] postgraduate program at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) and leads the AA DLAB and AA Istanbul Visiting School programs. 

As a co-founder of Wallacei, an evolutionary optimization engine, Milad has pioneered tools that empower architects and designers with sophisticated analytic and generative learning capabilities within Grasshopper, enabling unprecedented control over complex generative design challenges. His work focuses on integrating biological intelligence into architecture and urban design, leveraging computational thinking to redefine adaptive, responsive environments. 

Dr. Showkatbakhsh holds a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from Shahid Beheshti University (Tehran, Iran), a Master of Architecture from Pratt Institute (New York), where he earned the prestigious Sidney Katz Award for Design Excellence in 2015. He continued his research pursuits through a PhD at the Architectural Association, culminating in his groundbreaking thesis, Homeostatic Urban Morphologies: An Evolutionary Model to Generate Urban Morphologies with Embedded Homeostatic Behaviours. 

With experience spanning multiple global architecture and design studios, including leadership roles as Design Technology Director in Tehran, New York, Washington, Shanghai, London, and Istanbul, Milad has led high-profile projects from concept to realization. His research contributions are widely recognized, with numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference papers, and exhibitions showcasing his work in computer-aided design. Milad continues to influence the next generation of architects and researchers by advancing the intersection of computational intelligence and design science worldwide.

Free registration...

Announcing the AA Visiting School New York 2024!

AA Visiting School New York 2024
July 26-August 4, 2024

In partnership with Pratt Institute, this intensive nine-day program will cover some of the most relevant and advanced approaches to computation and urban design in practice today.

The program will focus on digital and scripted design methodologies as well as cutting-edge AI platforms realized through digital representation techniques. Using Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, each instructor will introduce their advanced methods of working within these platforms for diverse design outcomes and exposure to differentiated design methodologies.

This innovative program features designers and academics from the leading offices and advanced institutions from around the globe. Featured academic staff and lecturers include the Architectural Association, Pratt Institute, UPenn, MIT, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Hong Kong University, Technical University Munich, Technical University Prague, UCL the Bartlett, TU Graz, ETH Zurich, and Tsinghua University. Professional experience is provided by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM), Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), Grimshaw Architects, Bart//Bratke, Beta Realities.

AAVS New York is in person. All workshops, lectures, crits, and collaborations will take place both on Governors Island and at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

A remote program audit is also available, with virtual access to the Symposium, Instruction Sessions, Master Class Presentations, and Lecture Series. This option does not include direct instruction, participation in the development of a group project, or receipt of certificate course completion.

Registration ends July 25, 2024.

Visit the AAVS website for more information!