Phil Ayres

Curriculum vitae

RESEARCH FOCUS AREA

I have 25 years of experience researching and teaching within Architecture, with a sustained focus on the critical and creative use of technology to drive innovation within design and production practices contributing to the built environment. My practice-based research sits at the intersection between architectural design, accessible craft techniques, material systems and biological coupling.
My current focus is on the conceptualisation, design and production of novel bio-hybrid architectural systems that couple technical & living complexes, together with the development of complimentary design tools and environments. This research focus has been pursued in the context of two EU funded Future and Emerging Technology (FET) projects – flora robotica and Fungal Architectures – and continues with the recently funded EIC Pathfinder project Fungateria (2022-2026) and a Carlsberg Foundation Semper Ardens Accomplish grant for the project Kagome Architectures (2024-2029).

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT

01.2022 – to date     Chair Professor of Biohybrid Architecture, Royal Danish Academy

EDUCATION

April 2009                PhD Architecture. Århus School of Architecture, Denmark

June 1998                 Post-Graduate Diploma in Architecture, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

June 1995                 BA(Hons) Architecture (first class), University of Greenwich

ACADEMIC AWARDS AND HONOURS

• The flora robotica team awarded first prize in the Concept Category of the international Prix Bloxhub (2019), and exhibited at the Prix Bloxhub Interactive International Symposium, Copenhagen, and Ars Electronica exhibition, Linz, Austria.

• Recipient of a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) award for the sixteen*(makers) & Stahlbogen Gmbh collaborative building project 55/02, Kielder, Northumbria, UK

FUNDRAISING / RESEARCH PROJECT RUNNING & MANAGEMENT

• Kagome Architectures – novel woven construction in solid timber
  Carlsberg Foundation – 10m DKK (1.34M Euro) Semper Ardens Accomplish Grant.
  Phil was lead applicant and will act as Coordinator and Lead Researcher. This 5-year project will investigate the direct application of Kagome material interlacing principles to achieve load-bearing structures without the need for mechanical or chemical fixings within the structural lattice.
   
• Enhanced Production and Analysis Capabilities in Biofabrication for Architecture and Design Carlsberg Foundation – 1.6m DKK (215k Euro) Infrastructure Grant.
  Phil was lead applicant. Awarded December 2022 with the funds used to procure specialist incubation equipment and a desktop SEM-EDX facility to enhance research and teaching in the Academy’s Biolab.
• Fungateria – EU Horizon EIC Pathfinder ‘Challenge Driven’ – 4.5m Euro (inc. co-funding), 2022-2026  The consortium comprises 6 European beneficiaries and 1 UK Associated Partner (funded by Innovate UK/UKRI). Phil was lead applicant and acts as Project Coordinator.
  
  
• Fungal Architectures – EU Horizon2020: FET Open Action – 2.8m Euro, 2019-2022
  Awarded to a consortium comprising 4 European beneficiaries. Phil was co-applicant and acted as Principal Investigator.
  
  
• flora robotica – EU Horizon2020: FET Proactive Action – 3.6m Euro, 2015-2019
  Awarded to a consortium comprising 6 European beneficiaries. Phil was co-applicant and acted as Principal Investigator.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• Co-chair of the international FABRICATE conference and co-editor of the FABRICATE 2024 book, available as Open Access at https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/233311

• Contributor and reviewer for many of the leading international conferences in the field including ACADIA, eCAADe, CAADRIA, FABRICATE, AAG (Advances in Architectural Geometry) and DMS (Design Modelling Symposium), since 2006.
• Advisory Board member for the journal Research Directions: Biotechnology Design,
  Cambridge University Press, since 2022

SUPERVISION OF PHD STUDENTS

2023 – ongoing        Claudia Colmo. 3-year fully funded PhD linked to the EU EIC Pathfinder funded project FUNGATERIA.

2019 – 2024             Adrien Rigobello. 3-year fully funded PhD linked to the EU project Fungal Architectures. Thesis title ‘On Mycoboscus - Design Strategies & Epistemology of a Novel Sustainable Craft’.

2016 – 2019             Mary Katherine Heinrich. 3-year fully funded PhD linked to the EU project Flora Robotica. Thesis title ‘Self-organizing, -adaptive, and hybrid robotic control in architectural technology’.

THIRD CYCLE EDUCATION

I have examined more than 20 PhD’s since 2012, within the Architectural sub-fields of Digital Architectural Design, Digital Fabrication and Mycelium-Based Materials. I have acted as primary supervisor for two completed PhDs and one ongoing. I am co-organiser of the PhD course ‘Research Strategies and Methods for Design Driven Material Studies’ which has been running since 2022.

ELECTED POSITIONS

2009 – 2013 Member of the Board for Charlottenborg Fonden, Forårsudstillingen

PUBLICATION RECORD

A comprehensive record can be found on my ORCID and Research Gate profiles:

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9266-065X  

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Phil_Ayres