Hello TUX!
A reminder that tomorrow we have a Sanders Series Lecture by Siqi Zhu, Samara Trilling, Brian Ho (Sidewalk Labs) at Autodesk.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Ali, Fraser, Daniel and Tovi
Sanders Series Invited Lecture: Siqi Zhu, Samara Trilling, Brian Ho (Sidewalk Labs): Notes from Computational Urban Design in Practice
October 29, 2019. Autodesk-Research @ 661 University Avenue #200, Toronto, ON.
Lunch reception begins at 12:30 pm. Presentation begins at 1:00 pm.
Abstract
Sidewalk Labs aims to improve the quality of human life in cities through technological innovation. One focus of our work is the improvement of existing urban design processes through interactive visualization, optimization, and cloud computation. In this talk, we will share a case study describing our ongoing experiences in applying computation to the design of the built environment; contextualize this work within a broader history of urbanism and technology; outline the ongoing partnership between domain experts, designers and engineers at Sidewalk Labs; and describe the challenges of making a useful and usable tool for district-scale planning and development.
Bios
Siqi Zhu
Siqi is Associate Director, Public Realm at Sidewalk Labs, where his work imagines how technology transforms the design and implementation of urban streets and public realm. Before Sidewalk, Siqi headed up product design at Envelope, a NYC-based startup that visualizes development opportunities under NYC zoning. He also worked as a senior designer and project manager at Boston-based Sasaki and Utile, where he oversaw urban planning projects for a variety of public, private, and institutional clients across the US and internationally.
Siqi is passionate about great urban public spaces. He is particularly interested in how a human-centered, research- and data-intensive design process can yield fresh insights about—and build stakeholder consensus around—how we improve the urban public realm. He played a key role in creating Boston’s first Complete Streets guidelines, an award-winning design manual noted for technical and visual communication excellence; and Boston’s 2030 city-wide mobility strategy, lauded for its use of data visualization to engage a city-wide constituency in complex mobility planning decisions. Siqi has also worked extensively with municipal transportation and parks departments, the National Park Service, and other public space managers around the country.
Siqi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto and a Masters in Urban Planning from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He has led research projects at MIT Senseable City Lab and currently teaches at Northeastern University’s College of Art, Media, and Design.
Brian Ho
I’m an <https://brian-ho.io/#Desk> interdisciplinary designer working at the intersection of society, technology and the built environment.
I believe design creates joy, community and justice. I love <https://brian-ho.io/City> cities, <https://brian-ho.io/Space> infrastructure and <https://brian-ho.io/Interface> interfaces. I imagine better interactions for complex systems. I’ve helped make <https://brian-ho.io/Boston-Bench-Buddy> services, <https://brian-ho.io/Event-Detection-Interface> software, <https://brian-ho.io/Alley-Pond-Center> buildings and <https://brian-ho.io/St-Bernard-Land-Use-Plan> plans in <https://sidewalktoronto.ca/> Toronto, <https://www.boston.gov/departments/new-urban-mechanics> Boston, <http://www.mkthink.com/> SF, <http://www.leroystreetstudio.com/> NYC and <http://www.wbarchitects.com/> NOLA … and a few more <https://brian-ho.io/#Collaborations> things.
I work at <https://www.sidewalklabs.com/> Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet company reimagining cities to improve quality of life. My work combines machine intelligence, urban futures and human-centered design.
I graduated from the <http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/design-engineering/> Master in Design Engineering (MDE) program at the <http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/> Harvard GSD and <http://www.seas.harvard.edu/> SEAS. I studied at <https://www.arch.columbia.edu/> Columbia GSAPP and majored in architecture at <http://architecture.yale.edu/school/academic-programs/undergraduate-studies> Yale. Oh, and I’m <http://www.usgbc.org/> LEED AP BD+C certified.
Samara Trilling
Samara is a software engineer at Sidewalk Labs. She received her BA in computer science at Columbia University, and has worked at Google, SheEO, and Sidewalk Labs.
OUR SPONSORS:
TUX is made possible by the support of our sponsors, Steven Sanders, Autodesk,
University of Toronto Department of Computer Science, and Chatham Labs.
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Hello Tux!
Welcome to the 2019/2020 season! In this message you will find information about all of the following:
1. New Sponsor
2. Editorial Board Addition
3. Change in Format and Location
4. 2019/20 Schedule
Note that our first speaker will be joining us next week at the Autodesk space in the MaRS facility. We hope to see you there! As always, Tux-HCI.org<http://tux-hci.org/> has the complete schedule and all the information you need to participate.
New Sponsor
We are very pleased to announce that Chatham Labs<http://chathamlabs.com/> has joined us as a sponsor. This adds to the generous support provided by Autodesk Research, by Steven Sanders, and by the University of Toronto.
Editorial Board Addition
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Fraser Anderson<http://fraseranderson.ca/> has agreed to join the Tux editorial board, our all-volunteer crew which works hard to select an exciting slate of speakers for each season. Dr. Anderson boasts a decade of HCI research experience, as well as a wealth of interests that has brought a fresh perspective to the board.
Change in Format and Location
For 2019/20, we have narrowed our focus to the Sander Series Invited Lectures, and do not presently have any member presentations planned. This will allow us to focus on our external visitors, and ensure that the community has a chance to engage with these important thinkers in HCI. Note also that in February of 2020, we will be moving back to our original Sanders Series space in the auditorium at MaRS to accommodate our fast-growing community!
2019/2020 Schedule
We are thrilled to have an exciting lineup of four Sanders Series Invited Lectures, with dates and locations shown below:
Date
Speaker
Location
October 29, 2019
Siqi Zhu
<https://www.siqizhu.net/>Sidewalk Labs
Autodesk Research,
MaRS Building
November 19, 2019
Michel Beaudouin-Lafon
<https://www.lri.fr/~mbl/eintroduction.html>Université Paris-Sud |
Institut Universitaire de France
Autodesk Research,
MaRS Building
February 11, 2020
Saleema Amershi<http://saleemaamershi.com/>
Microsoft Research
Basement Auditorium,
MaRS Building
March 10, 2020
Justine Cassell<http://www.hcii.cmu.edu/people/justine-cassell>
Carnegie-Mellon University
Basement Auditorium,
MaRS Building
We look forward to seeing you at our first Sander Series Invited Lecture next week.
Ali, Daniel, Fraser, Tovi
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OUR SPONSORS: [cid:image007.jpg@01D587DA.C9FF26E0]
Tux is made possible by the support of our sponsors, Steven Sanders, Autodesk,
University of Toronto Department of Computer Science, and Chatham Labs.