Workshop by Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich
workshop
01.
06
2026
This one-week workshop invites senior bachelor’s and master’s students to explore a parametric approach to architectural design through the lens of timber construction.
The workshop will introduce participants to Design for Manufacturing (DFM) as a way of thinking about architecture from the perspective of material, fabrication, and assembly. We will focus on how the properties, possibilities, and constraints of timber can shape architectural form, structural logic, and the design process itself.
The main tool used during the workshop will be COMPAS Timber, developed by Gramazio Kohler Research at ETH Zurich. Participants will also work with Rhino, Grasshopper, Radii, and VR headsets.
The practical task will be to design timber extensions for a prefabricated panel housing block from the Soviet-era residential building stock. The workshop format will combine an introductory lecture by ETH Professor Fabio Gramazio, short theoretical inputs from the tutors, code-along sessions, group work, reviews, and a public presentation of the final results.
Basic skills in Rhino and Grasshopper are sufficient to take part. More important is curiosity: an interest in digital design tools, timber construction, and the desire to learn how to design with an understanding of material behaviour, structural logic, and parametric relationships.
Team:
Fabio Gramazio is an architect with multi-disciplinary interests ranging from computational design and robotic fabrication to material innovation. In 2000, he founded the architecture practice Gramazio & Kohler in conjunction with his partner Matthias Kohler, where numerous award-wining designs have been realised. Current projects include the design of the Empa NEST research platform, a future living and working laboratory for sustainable building construction. Opening also the world’s first architectural robotic laboratory at ETH Zurich, Gramazio & Kohler’s research has been formative in the field of digital architecture, setting precedence and de facto creating a new research field merging advanced architectural design and additive fabrication processes through the customised use of industrial robots. This ranges from 1:1 prototype installations to the design of robotically fabricated high-rises. His recent research is outlined and theoretically framed in the book The Robotic Touch: How Robots Change Architecture (Park Books, 2014). From 2017 to 2019, Fabio Gramazio was Director of Studies for Bachelor and Master Architecture.
Anton Klyshnia is an architect. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Vienna University of Technology and a master’s degree in MACAD (Master in Advanced Computation for Architecture and Design) from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.
His master’s thesis explored how artificial intelligence and open data can help in the remote assessment of damage to Ukrainian cities, determining their carbon footprint, and planning more sustainable reconstruction.
During his eight years in Vienna, he worked in various architectural firms in Austria and Germany, gaining valuable experience in an international professional environment. Recently, he has been collaborating as an architect with a number of international studios, including Gianni Ranaulo Design Studio.
At the same time, Anton is developing the Circular Ukraine project in partnership with the German company Urban Beta, which aims to introduce a circular timber construction system for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
In 2025, he joined the KSA team, where he teaches bachelor’s and master’s programs.
Anastasiia Stryzhevska is an architect from Ukraine. She earned her degree from Politecnico di Milano in 2013 and returned to Ukraine to join Drozdov and Partners in Kharkiv, where she worked on public and private architectural projects.
In 2016, she became a certified architect in Ukraine and co-founded the architectural office AER in Kyiv. AER focused on public and industrial projects, with two of its works longlisted for the EU Mies Award 2022.
Following the introduction of martial law in Ukraine in 2022, Anastasiia joined UNHCR as an Assistant Shelter Officer. Her primary responsibility was the repair of war-damaged housing. Between 2022 and the end of 2024, she coordinated the repair of more than 7,100 households affected by the war.
In early 2025, she joined the Gramazio Kohler Research teaching team as a teaching assistant in the Immersive Studio – 54 Foundations Ukraine. Anastasiia was awarded the ITA Fellowship for her research on post-war adaptive mass housing design using timber construction.
As of May 2026, she is conducting research on computational design strategies for multistorey prefabricated timber housing in the context of Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. Her work investigates how mass customization, graph-based coordination models, and planning automation tools can support adaptable, scalable, and manufacturable timber housing solutions under conditions of large-scale demand and limited construction capacity.
Kyrylo Tsuman is an architect and a researcher working at the intersection of parametric design, modular systems, and digital technologies in architecture. His practice combines experimental form-finding methods with applied solutions for the urban environment.
Co-founder of the architectural bureau in.Lab Architects and the educational platform in.Lab School, where he develops directions in algorithmic thinking, digital fabrication, and innovative design methodologies. His projects have received over 30 professional awards at international and Ukrainian competitions.
He holds an international academic background, including a Master’s degree from the Dessau Institute of Architecture (Germany). His research focuses on modular form generation and information technologies in architecture.
Author of academic publications, including: “Modularity in Adaptive Architecture”; “Parametric Methods for Addressing Chaotic Urban Development in Kyiv”; “Great Architects Zaha Hadid and Filippo Brunelleschi: Creators of Unique Modular Structures Across Centuries”; “New Mobile Ski Track Systems for Remote and Urban Conditions” (co-authored with international colleagues).
In teaching, he focuses on developing systemic thinking, working with algorithms, and cultivating a design culture that integrates theory, digital tools, and practical implementation.
Joined the Kharkiv School of Architecture team in 2025.
Liubov Tytarenko is an architect and curator of in.Lab Architects and in.Lab School. She is a leading specialist in Rhino modelling and Revit-based design. She teaches courses in Rhinoceros and Revit Architecture. She earned a Specialist degree in Architecture from KNUBA and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies.