The Material Processes and Systems (MaP+S) Group, led by Professor Martin Bechthold, is a research unit that takes materials as a starting point for a broad set of research investigations that involve computation, robotics, and material science. MaP+S advances the aesthetic and functional agenda of materials in the built environment. The group evolved from the previously established Design Robotics Group, also at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. MaPS looks at materiality as starting points for design research, with a special interest in robotic and computer-numerically controlled (CNC) fabrication processes as well as small-scale work on nano-materials. Much of our current work studies ceramic material systems and design robotics. MaP+S also runs the Adaptive Living Environments (ALivE) project jointly with Harvard’s REAL group and Prof. Allen Sayegh. ALivE develops novel applications for nano-scale material systems jointly with scientists from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.
The MaP+S Group works on funded research and other projects and supports thesis research on the masters and the doctoral level. We work with industry partners and associations, students, faculty and staff of the GSD, as well as with other academic groups at Harvard University and beyond. It is closely affiliated with the GSD’s Laboratory for Design Technology, a platform for industry-academy interaction and collaboration.
SPONSORS
With approximately 140 members, ASCER (the Spanish Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Association) includes and represents practically all (97%) of Spain’s ceramic tile manufacturers.
The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard uses Nature’s design principles to develop bioinspired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world.
Cevisama is the annual International Fair for Architectural Ceramics, Bathroom and Kitchen Equipment, Natural Stone, Raw Materials, Frits, Glazes and Ceramic Colorants and Machinery.
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries.
Advanced International Multitech CO., LTD.
Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences mission to “stimulate and catalyze the advancement of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the benefit of society, researchers, and enterprise in Kuwait
MATERIAL SPONSORS
THESIZE Sintered Ceramics SL
Ortweinschule Graz
Tondach Gleinstaetten
COLLABORATORS
Professors Stefan Peters and Andreas Trummer of the Institute for Structural Design ITE at the TU Graz conduct research in structural systems and design robotics. MaP+S and ITE collaborate through joint workshops, exchanges of researchers, as well as through joint research projects.
Institut fuer Konstruktiven Betonbau, TU Graz, Prof. Bernhard Freytag
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Architectural Acoustics Group, Prof. Ning Xiang
Instituto de Tecnologia Ceramica, Castellon, Spain
Harvard Office for the Arts, Ceramics Program, Kathy King, Director of Education
Italcementi is an Italian-based multinational company founded in 1864, which produces cement, ready-mix concrete and construction aggregates. It is the 5th largest cement producer in the world.