Switzerland
After dealing, in my Master thesis, with topics related to the structural behaviour of innovative materials for usage in free-form architecture, I worked on the structural and architectural design of residential buildings. From September 2015 to September 2016, I was a student at ETH in the MAS Program in Architecture and Digital Fabrication (Gramazio Kohler Research), where I developed strong competences in digital design (Grasshopper, Python, etc.) and fabrication. In the MAS Thesis Project, we built a two-story pavilion, made out of wood, using two robotic arms. In this design process, I was responsible for the structural design using the parametric FEM software, Karamba 3D. In the same year, I have also collaborated in the fabrication of the formworks for the Swiss Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2016 (Arch. Christian Kerez), and as a development engineer in the start-up QualySense AG. From November 2016 to April 2018, I worked as an Intern and then as Research Assistant at Block Research Group, ETH Zurich, participating in the fabrication of several BRG projects. In 2018, I started a PhD at BRG, focusing on developing computational tools for the structural assessment and design of unreinforced masonry structures using the Discrete Element Method, investigating the role of geometrical imperfections on their structural behaviour. In 2021, I took part as a structural designer and BRG project leader in the realisation of Striatus, an unreinforced masonry 3D-concrete-printed pedestrian bridge, built in Venice during the European Cultural Centre Architecture Biennial Exhibition 2021. From August 2021, I was a Visiting Researcher in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley for six months, hosted by Prof. Matthew J. DeJong, where I expanded my knowledge on Discrete Element Modelling, working on the mechanical behaviour of unreinforced masonry spiral staircases. After defending my PhD in June 2022, I worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the BRG, where I contributed as a structural designer and BRG project leader to the realisation of Phoenix, an unreinforced masonry 3D-concrete-printed permanent pedestrian bridge, built in Lyon, France in 2023. Since November 2024, I am a Senior Researcher at BRG and from June 2025 I work part-time as COO of VAULTED AG, the BRG ETH spin-off working on low-carbon structural solutions for circular construction.
http://www.block.arch.ethz.ch/
Prof. Matthew DeJong - Assessment of Unreinforced Masonry Structures through Discrete Element Modelling