Monday, 01.06.2026, 15:15 via Zoom

Collaborative Intelligence for our Built World

This lecture explores how design can reconcile human aspirations with the planetary consequences of the built environment, positioning architecture and engineering as critical tools for decarbonization. Drawing on advances in computational design, artificial intelligence, robotics, and material reuse, the talk presents new methods for integrating human creativity, engineering performance, and material intelligence to shape more sustainable and expressive futures for construction and urban systems.

Caitlin Mueller is an Associate Professor at MIT in Architecture and in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She leads the Digital Structures research group, directs the Building Technology program, and serves as Associate Director of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium. Trained at MIT and Stanford, she joined the MIT faculty in 2014. Since then, she has led research advancing computational design and digital fabrication methods to create innovative, high-performance buildings and structures that support a more sustainable and equitable future. Her work has been recognized through major awards, including the 2021 ACADIA Innovative Research Award of Excellence, the 2022 ACSA Diversity Achievement Award, seven best paper awards, and Architectural Record’s inaugural Innovator of the Year distinction in 2025. She has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, and her research has been demonstrated in built projects such as the 2022 Sueños con Tierra y Concreto pavilion in Mexico City, multiple installations at the 2025 Venice Biennale, and Janet Echelman’s 2025 Remembering the Future sculpture at the MIT Museum. She is also co-founder of two startups, Forma Systems and Pixelframe.