KISDtalk Special “Synthetic Realities”

Book Release Event: Synthetic Realities: New Frontiers in AI-driven Design, Fabrication, and Materiality

Join us for the release of Synthetic Realities, a thought-provoking collection of essays exploring how AI is transforming the worlds of design, art, and architecture. Featuring contributions from leading international experts, this book offers fresh insights into the dynamic intersection of digital and physical realities, uncovering cutting-edge innovations in aesthetics, bio-digital synergies, and the evolving relationship between humans and technology.

The event will feature short presentations and stimulating discussions on how emerging technologies are reshaping creative processes. Speakers include Manuel Kretzer, Lasse Scherffig, Simon Maris, Marc Engenhart, Michael Hansmeyer, Immanuel Koh, and Maria Kuptsova.

Ideal for design students, academics, professionals, and anyone passionate about the future of creativity, this event promises an engaging exploration of pioneering ideas that challenge the boundaries of human and machine collaboration.

Wanna have a look into the program? View here.

Prof. Dr. Manuel Kretzer is a designer, researcher, and educator. Since 2018, he has been a Professor for Material and Technology at the Dessau Department of Design, Anhalt University, where he also founded and directs the Materiability Research Group. His work explores innovative material properties, focusing on the intersection of digital design, fabrication, adaptive technologies, and biological materials, with a recent interest in the implications of artificial intelligence on creative processes and academic innovation.

Previously, he was a visiting professor at the Braunschweig University of Art (2015-2018) and has held teaching roles at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Technical University Braunschweig, Innsbruck University, Technical University Dublin, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD at the Chair for CAAD at ETH Zürich, where he worked as a scientific assistant, focusing on dynamic architectural systems and smart material performance.

Manuel is also a founding partner of responsive design studio, which specializes in architecture, interior design, and digital fabrication services, with a focus on responsive and adaptive spatial interventions.