︎AIDAN ACKERMAN
︎acackerm@esf.edu
I work on projects which investigate the agency of digital tools in landscape architecture analysis and design, specifically the simulation and visualization of natural phenomena. I am curious about whether we can predict how designs will change over time, how natural systems will develop, and how the earth and our built environment will adapt to changing climates. I wonder about the ways that software can enable us to become better landscape architects, to visualize new environments and create transformative virtual and real settings. Where will digital software be in 30 years? We can't possibly know, but we can equip ourselves to nimbly adapt to the new digital tools that come our way. We might even invent our own tools. I teach students to use 3D modeling, parametric and algorithmic modeling, rendering, animation, GIS, BIM, and digital fabrication in their design work, and I research new ways of using digital technology to model and simulate landscapes.
Before joining the faculty at ESF, I was the Director of Digital Media and Faculty in The School of Landscape Architecture at Boston Architectural College. I've worked as part of the Research Computing Environment at The Harvard/MIT Data Center, have twice been named a Research Fellow by the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. I also have an independent computation design and visualization practice, developing models and graphics for international firms within the disciplines of landscape architecture, architecture, interior design, graphic and industrial design. My love of computing is built on six years of experience in information technology, beginning as a hardware technician and advancing over several years to become a Senior Systems Engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area.