Thomas Schroepfer

Biography

Professor Thomas Schroepfer obtained his doctoral degree and master’s degree with distinction from Harvard University. He began his academic career at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design where he was appointed Assistant Professor of Architecture in 2004 and Associate Professor of Architecture in 2008. He was named Full Professor after joining the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) in 2011, where he became the Founding Programme Director and Associate Head of Pillar of Architecture and Sustainable Design and currently serves as the Co-Director of the SUTD-JTC I³ Centre and the Director of the University’s award-winning Advanced Architecture Laboratory. He held visiting professorships at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Loughborough University (LU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Since 2015, he is a member of the Core Research Team of the Singapore-ETH Centre Future Cities Laboratory and served as a member of its Steering Committee from 2015-2020.

Professor Schroepfer’s work investigates the increasingly complex relationship between design and technology in architecture. His research and design projects relate to advances in environmental sustainability, materials, structure and form, performance and energy, digital fabrication and building processes. He has been recognized as a creative leader in the industry and sought-after as a keynote speaker at international conferences, symposia and workshops. His work has been exhibited at important international venues, including at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the World Architecture Festival, and the World Congress of Architecture. He is the author of numerous publications on architecture and design. His books have been translated into several languages and include Dense+Green Cities: Architecture as Urban Ecosystem (2020), Dense+Green: Innovative Building Types for Sustainable Urban Architecture (2016), Ecological Urban Architecture (2012) and Material Design: Informing Architecture by Materiality (2011). In 2011, he was named Author of New and Notable Books on Architecture, Culture and Design by Metropolis Magazine. Since 2014, he is the Series Editor of SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology, published by Springer Nature. His work has been covered by a variety of media including The New York Times, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Channel NewsAsia, The Straits Times, El Mundo, Tagesspiegel, Bauwelt, Metropolis, and Harvard Design Magazine. Recent projects include the award-winning The Future of Us Pavilion at The Gardens by the Bay Singapore.

Professor Schroepfer is the recipient of prestigious awards and recognitions including the The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies International Architecture Award; the President*s Design Award, Singapore’s highest honour accorded to designers and designs across all disciplines; the German Design Award; and the Asia Education Leadership Award.

Education

• Doctor of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 2004
• Master of Architecture with Distinction, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 2000
• Diplom-Ingenieur Architektur, Summa Cum Laude, Universität der Künste Berlin, Germany, 1995
• Bachelor of Architecture, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York, New York, USA, 1995

Selected Research Projects

• Principal Investigator. Dense and Green Cities: Emerging Models of Integrated Urban Development (Singapore-ETH Centre Future Cities Laboratory Global). Funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), and the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
• Principal Investigator. Vertical Cities: Complex Emergent Patterns of Movement and Space Use in High-Density Urban Contexts. Funded by the Singapore Ministry of National Development.
• Principal Investigator. Urban Science and Design for Density. Funded by the Singapore Ministry of Education.
• Principal Investigator. Dense and Green Building Typologies (Singapore-ETH Centre Future Cities Laboratory). Funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation.
• Principal Investigator. Interactive Multi-Objective Optimisation Tools for Parametric Modelling and Environmental Simulation. Funded by the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre.
• Principal Investigator. Prototyping Concrete Sandwich Shells: A New Efficient Structural Typology Relying on Digital Design and Prefabrication. Funded by the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre.
• Principal Investigator. Integrated Tools for Efficient Optimisation of Parametric Design. Funded by the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre.
• Principal Investigator. Future Urban Typologies for Enhancing Liveability in Singapore (Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities The Future of Cities project). Funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation.
• Principal Investigator. Architectural Prototypes for the Generation of Urban Microclimates. Funded by the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre.
• Principal Investigator. Optimisation Tools for Generative Methods in Ecological Urban Architecture. Funded by the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre.
• Principal Investigator. Climate-Responsive Design Optimisation and Integration in Architecture and Urban Design. Funded by the the Singapore Ministry of Education.
• Principal Investigator. Dense+Green: Innovative Building Types for Sustainable Urban Architecture. Funded by the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities.
• Principal Investigator. Ecological Urban Architecture: New Approaches to Sustainability. Funded by Harvard University Real Estate Academic Initiative.
• Principal Investigator. Environmental Adaptation: Architecture Experiments for Singapore’s New Waterfront. Funded by the Far East Organization.
• Principal Investigator. Material Design: Informing Architecture by Materiality. Funded by Harvard University and Material ConneXion.
• Principal Investigator. Transurban: Charting Experiments for Cities of the Future. Funded by the Harvard University Real Estate Academic Initiative.
• Principal Investigator. Integrating Material Culture in Architectural Education. Funded by Harvard University.

Selected Awards and Recognitions

• Chinese Design AwardAustralian Good Design Award 2022
• The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre of Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies International Architecture  Award 2022
• Architecture MasterPrize 2021
• BLT Built Design Award 2021
• The Architecture Community World Design Award 2021
• Iconic Award: Innovative Architecture 2021
• LOOP Design Award 2021
• DNA Paris Design Award 2021
• A’ Design Platinum Award 2021
• iF Design Award 2021
• Jury Member of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Asia-Pacific Awards 2021
• IDA Design Award 2020
• Golden Pin Design Award 2020
• The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies International Architecture Award 2019
• The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design Award 2019
• Aga Khan Award for Architecture Nominee 2019
• Singapore President*s Design Award 2018
• German Design Award 2018
• Invited exhibition at the Museum Angewandte Kunst Design Space Frankfurt, Germany
• Visiting Professor at Loughborough University
• Asia Education Leadership Award 2018
• Architizer A+Award 2017
• Singapore Good Design (SG Mark) Award 2017
• World Architecture Festival Award 2016
• A’ Design Platinum Award 2016
• Singapore Structural Steel Excellence Award 2016
• Invited exhibition at the Museum of Outstanding Design (MOOD) Como, Italy, 2016, 2021
• Singapore Design Award 2016
• Singapore Good Design (SG Mark) Award 2016
• Core Research Team and Steering Committee Member of Singapore-ETH Centre Future Cities Laboratory
• Series Editor of SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology
• Singapore University of Technology and Design Outstanding Education Award 2015
• Jury Member of the Singapore Institute of Architects Design Awards
• Jury Member of the Singapore Green Building Council Awards
• Invited exhibitions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2014, 2018, 2021
• Invited exhibitions at Singapore National Design Centre 2014, 2016, 2020
• Singapore Institute of Architects Award 2013
• Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Metropolis Magazine Author of New and Notable Books on Architecture, Culture and Design 2011
• Visiting Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
• Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore
• Gwangju Design Biennale Award 2011
• International Union of Architects Award 2008
• Invited exhibitions at the Singapore Institute of Architects, Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority, Hong Kong Institute of Architects, Fundación Metropoli, Tsinghua University, Seoul Space Gallery, Harvard University
• Keynote speaker at various conferences

Selected Publications

• Schröpfer, Thomas, Sacha Menz et al. “Principles and Actions” (multiple contributions). In Future Cities Lab Indicia 03, edited by Stephen Cairns and Tunas Devisari. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers, 2021. ISBN: 9783037786598

• Schröpfer, Thomas et al. “Equatorial Utopia: 50 Years of Visionary Architecture in Singapore.” In Venice Architecture Biennial 2021: Time Space Existence. Venice: European Cultural Centre, 2021.

• Schröpfer, Thomas. Dense+Green Cities: Architecture as Urban Ecosystem. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2020. ISBN: 9783035615319 (hardcover), 9783035615111 (ebook), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783035615111

• Schröpfer, Thomas. Computational Strategies for Ecological Architecture and Urban Design. Singapore: Springer Nature, forthcoming 2022.

• Schröpfer, Thomas and Sacha Menz, eds. Dense and Green Building Typologies: Design Perspectives. Singapore: Springer Nature, 2019. ISBN: 9789811330353

• Schroepfer, Thomas and Sacha Menz. “Dense and Green Building Typologies: Architecture as Urban Ecosystem.” In Future Cities Lab Indicia 02, edited by Stephen Cairns and Tunas Devisari. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers, 2019. ISBN: 9783037785997

• Schröpfer, Thomas. “The Future of Us Pavilion.” In New International Architecture: Global Design and Urbanism XIX, edited by Christian Narkiewicz-Laine. Chicago: Metropolitan Arts Press, 2019. ISBN: 0935119582
• Schröpfer, Thomas and Sacha Menz. “Future Cities Laboratory – Dense and Green Building Typologies: Architecture as Urban Ecosystem.” In Venice Architecture Biennial 2018: Time Space Existence. Venice: GAA Foundation – European Cultural Centre, 2018.

• Schröpfer, Thomas and Sacha Menz, eds. Dense and Green Building Typologies: Research, Policy and Practice Perspectives. Singapore: Springer Nature, 2018. ISBN: 9789811307133

• Schröpfer, Thomas. “Dense and Green Building Typologies.” In Future Cities Lab Indicia 01, edited by Stephen Cairns and Tunas Devisari. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers, 2017. ISBN: 9783037785454

• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Dense and Green Building Typologies.” The Singapore Architect 08/2017.
• Schroepfer, Thomas. “The Making of ‘The Future of Us’ Pavilion.” The Singapore Architect 04/2016.
• Schröpfer, Thomas. Dense+Green: Innovative Building Types for Sustainable Urban Architecture. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2016. ISBN: 9783038215790 (hardcover), 9783038210146 (ebook), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783038210146

• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Design with a Big ‘D’.” The Singapore Architect 01/2015.
• Schröpfer, Thomas, series ed. SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology. Singapore: Springer Nature, 2014-present.

• Ng, Edmund and Thomas Schröpfer. “Generative Design Approaches to Tropical Urban Architecture.” La Biennale di Venezia 2014: Time Space Existence, edited by Karlyn de Jongh. Venice: GAA Foundation, 2014.

• Schröpfer, Thomas. “Das Versprechen Intelligenter Werkstoffe.” In Macht des Materials, edited by Susanne Witzgall and Kerstin Stakemeier. Zürich/Berlin: Diaphanes, 2014. ISBN: 9783037346655
• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Ecological Urban Architecture: Taking Stock of Green.” Singapore Architect 270-275 (series of six articles, 2012-2013).
• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Innovative Building Skins for the Tropics: The Singapore New Jurong Church.” In Design 2050: International Union of Architects 24th World Congress of Architecture. Tokyo: UIA, 2013.
• Schröpfer, Thomas. Ecological Urban Architecture. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2012. ISBN: 9783034608008 (hardcover), 9783034611756 (ebook), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783034611756

• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Ecological Urban Architecture.” World Architecture 262 (2012).
• Schröpfer, Thomas. Material Design: Informing Architecture by Materiality. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2011. ISBN: 9783034600354 (hardcover), 9783034611664 (ebook), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783034611664

• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Particular Matters.” Pidgin 10 (2011). ISBN: 9780981501666
• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Bamboo Oblique: An Experimental Pavilion for the Gwangju Design Biennale.” In Input_Output: Adaptive Materials and Mediated Environments, edited by Rashida Ng and Sneha Patel. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2011.
• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Possible Spaces.” In Stories from Design Schools, edited by Tang Keyang. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2010. ISBN: 9787301191804
• Schroepfer, Thomas. “Moving Beyond LEED: Evaluating Sustainability on the Urban Scale.” In Ecological Urbanism, edited by Mohsen Mostafavi with Gareth Doherty. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers, 2010. ISBN: 9783037784679

• Schröpfer, Thomas, Christian Werthmann and Limin Hee.“ Aspirations and Realities of Exemplary EcoCites.” DETAIL Green 02/10 (2010).
• Schroepfer, Thomas. Selected Research and Design Work. In A View on Harvard GSD, vols. 1-3. Cambridge: Harvard University Graduate School of Design (2009-2011). ISBN: 9780955573279, 9780955573286, 9780955573293
• Schroepfer, Thomas. Selected Research, Studio, and Course Work. In GSD Platform, vols. 1-4. Cambridge: Harvard University Graduate School of Design (2008-2011). ISBN: 9781934510162, 9788492861002, 9788492861507, 9788415391005
• Schroepfer, Thomas, and Christian Werthmann. “TransUrban.” Harvard Design Magazine 28 (2008).
• Schroepfer, Thomas, and Limin Hee. “Emerging Forms of Sustainable Urbanism.” Journal of Green Building Volume 3 Number 2 (2008).
• Schroepfer, Thomas and Christian Werthmann. TransUrban Case Studies 1-5. Cambridge: Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 2007-2010. ISBN: 9781934510049
• Schroepfer, Thomas and Liat Margolis. “Integrating Material Culture.” Journal of Architectural Education Issue 60 Volume 2 (2006).
• Schroepfer, Thomas. Relational Geographies of Building Practice, 2 vols. Cambridge: Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 2005. ISBN: 093561785X