Dr. M.A. (Mariana) Popescu

Dr. M.A. (Mariana) Popescu

Profile

Biography

Mariana is a computational architect and structural designer with a strong interest in innovative ways of approaching the fabrication process and use of materials in construction. Her area of expertise is computational and parametric design with a focus on digital fabrication and sustainable design.  Her extensive involvement in projects related to promoting sustainability has led to a multilateral development of skills, which combine the fields of architecture, engineering, computational design and digital fabrication.  Before joining TU Delft, she was a  post-doctoral researcher at the Block Research Group (BRG) at the Institute of Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich, involved in the NCCR Digital Fabrication, where in 2019 she also obtained her PhD,  which was nominated for the ETH Medal for outstanding dissertation.  Her research focuses on the development of KnitCrete, a novel, material-saving, labour-reducing, cost-effective formwork system for casting of doubly-curved geometries in concrete using 3D knitting. She is the main author of the award-winning KnitCandela shell and has been included as a "Pioneer" in the MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35 global list in 2019.  

Awards

2019 - MIT Technology Review - "Pioneer" in the "35 Under 35" global list of Innovators  2020 - Digital Futures "Young" Award

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Expertise

Publications

Courses 2024

Courses 2023