Architecture Professor Wins New Researcher Award
Assistant Professor of Architecture Sabri Gökmen has received the 2025-2026 Architectural Research Centers Consortium New Researcher Award. The award honors “emerging figures in architectural and environmental design research who demonstrate innovation in thinking, dedication to scholarship, contributions to the academy and leadership within architectural and environmental design research,” according to the ARCC criteria. One award is conferred each year. The ARCC Board of Directors chooses the recipient from an international pool of nominees.
“We are proud to celebrate Dr. Sabri Gökmen as the recipient of the 2025–2026 ARCC New Researcher Award, a highly competitive national honor recognizing emerging scholars whose work demonstrates innovation, rigorous inquiry and meaningful contributions to architectural research,” said Blaine Brownell, director of the David R. Ravin School of Architecture. “A computational designer and researcher, Gökmen’s work advances the integration of artificial intelligence, parametric design and digital fabrication, positioning him at the forefront of a rapidly evolving disciplinary landscape.”
Gökmen serves as director of the second-year studios in the School of Architecture and a mentor to students focusing on parametric modeling, generative art and digital fabrication. His research exists at the intersection of computation and design within what he defines as the “computed environment: a design context where spatial reasoning, material behavior and digital intelligence interact as interdependent agents,” he wrote in a research statement. His work reframes computation “not simply as a tool of automation but as a medium of inquiry that transforms how architectural form, matter and design knowledge are produced.”
Gökmen’s work has been supported by national and international grants and disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, international conferences and exhibitions. Most recently, examples of his research were presented in the “Generative Fields” exhibition in Lambla Gallery (Feb. 4-March 20) and the Fall 2025 symposium, “Archetype: Building Intelligence through Generative Architecture,” which he organized for the School of Architecture. His work on architectural applications of generative AI was also presented at the SIGGRAPH Asia 2025 conference in Hong Kong, where attendees from 60 countries gathered in December to explore innovations in computer graphics and interactive techniques.
“Gökmen’s scholarship exemplifies the ambitions of the School of Architecture’s ‘computed environment’ epicenter, which explores the convergence of atoms and bits through AI, robotics and advanced computational methods to redefine how architecture is conceived and produced,” said Brownell. “This recognition from ARCC underscores both the exceptional quality and future promise of his research and the SoA’s leadership in shaping the next generation of design intelligence.”
Founded in 1976, ARCC is an international association of architectural research centers, academies and organizations dedicated to enhancing research and promoting infrastructure of architecture and related design disciplines. There are more than 100 member institutions. Gökmen received the New Researcher Award at the 2026 ARCC-EAAE (European Association for Architectural Education) International Conference in Atlanta on April 10.