Art, Technology, Architecture (@A) is a research group part of the Computational Media and Arts Thrust at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (GZ).
We are an un-disciplinary group of designers, makers, engineers and material scientists conducting research on the impact and effects of emerging technologies on creative practices with a focus on architecture and design. We make use of computational design and digital fabrication, and collaborate with AI systems and living materials to create speculative concepts, artworks, and build architectural demonstrators. We focus on both the practical and the theoretical aspects of the impact of novel tools and materials on artistic and designerly outputs in the context of designing (for) sustainable futures.
News
2026
- Nov 2026 — hosting the talented conceptual artist Kraft who is visiting our research group and giving a lecture called "On Memory Architectures, Reverse Archeologies & Cognitive Infrastructures"
- Oct 2026 — hosting Elizabeth Jochum, associate professor of Robotics and Art at Aalborg University and director of robotics and automation at the investment fund RA in Boston, who is visiting our research group and giving a guest lecture called "The Art of Human-Robot Interaction: Leveraging Creativity and the Arts to Design Healthy Futures"
- Oct 2026 — Olivia has successfully defended her PhD qualification examination and is now officially a PhD candidate. Congrats Oli!
- Sept 2026 — Anca spent one weekend in Shanghai, at Tongji University's School of Design and Innovation taking part in: Designing AIs boundaries sub-conferece thinking about what should be the limits of AI, but also considering what is cognition, intelligence and the nature of science and knowledge production. This was part of the 5th World Design Cities Conference (WDCC) and included heavy-weigths such as John Thackara, Harry Miller, Lou Yongqi, Peter Lloyd and more.
- Aug 2026 — This autumn our group welcomes a few new members: Yuliang, with a backgroud in spatial and interior design is joining us as a PhD student and will work on experimental materials and speculative design. Welcome Yuliang! Yunwei, who was our research assistant last semester is now starting her PhD on emerging technologies and design. Welcome (back) Yunwei! Zahid has a background in material science and textiles and will join our group as a PhD student working across smart textiles with architectural scale applications.
- June 2026 — really proud that three of our group members - Yawei, Lei (Simon) and Yufeng successfully presented and defended their PhD qualification examinations and are now on track towards submitting their PhDs.
- June 2026 — it's finally out, after more than three years in the making! check out the special issue on Un-disciplinary: Entangled ways of seeing, knowing and doing in the journal ArtNodes. This builds on the Un-disciplinary symposium and art exhibition organized in Aalborg in 2023, and funded by Novo Nordisk Fonden
- May 2026 — editing a special issue under the theme Design and Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence in the journal Design and Artificial Intelligence.
- May 2026 — Spring semester exhibition and symposium at Computational Media and Arts, HKUST-gz showcasing student work across multiple courses. See more here.
- Mar 2026 — Yujie Liu (Jessie), with a background in English literature, just joined @A as an Mphil student. She will work on digital humanities, generative AI, and human-computer interaction. Welcome Yujie!
- Mar 2026 — Lei Han (Simon), master's graduate from HKUST-gz, and with a background in fine arts from the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) joined @A as a co-supervised PhD candidate (with prof. David Yip as main supervisor). His work focuses on AI mediated learning about built cultural heritage. Welcome Simon!
- Jan 2026 — editing a special issue under the theme Un-disciplinary: Entangled ways of seeing, knowing and doing in the journal ArtNodes. This builds on the Un-disciplinary symposium and art exhibition organized in Aalborg in 2023, and funded by Novo Nordisk Fonden
- Jan 2026 — Chloe Zhu, a recent master's graduate of Architecture from Chalmers University, just joined @A as a PhD student. She will work on developing a new material system combining Bio-rock technology with reclaimed seashell concrete. Welcome Chloe!
- Jan 2026 — Lucky John Tutor, recent master's graduate from HKUST-gz, just joined @A as a PhD student. He will work on 4D printing actuators for origami/kirigami structures to be used as facade elements. Welcome Lucky!
2025
- Dec 2025 — The group is growing fast: Xiaojing Liang joined in early December as an admin guru. Welcome Xiaojing!
- Dec 2025 — Yunwei Li, recent master graduate of Design from Tsinghua University joins @A as Research Assistant. Yunwei will work on combining design for sustainability with design for play, building on her ideas of history-as-design. Welcome Yunwei!
- Nov 2025 — talk on AI and bio-materials for design at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute
- Nov 2025 — participated in the 14th EAI International Conference: ArtsIT, Interactivity & Game Creation conference which took place in Dubai, and chaired a special track on Art and Design in the AI Era: New Creative Practices, Data Curation, and Automation
- Nov 2025 — participated in the SMART Diaspora conference in Cluj, Romania, a bi-annual conference that brings together the Romanian scientific diaspora and was part of a workshop/panel called The impact of design and the visual arts in contemporary society
- Nov 2025 — Stella Huang, recent master graduate of Creative Media from CityU joins @A as a Research Assistant. Stella will work on two projects investigating video-based social media content: one on Urban to Rural migration, and the second on (techno-)feminism. Welcome Stella!
- Oct 2025 — tocco.earth, one of the main platforms on bio-materials, featured our work: AI Pushes Material Choice Upstream, From Geometry to LCA
- Oct 2025 — took part in a trip across China to see industrial production sites for robotics, new materials, and bio-technologies, organized by tocco.earth
- Oct 2025 — gave a talk at SUStech school of Design on Ecologies of Care and Language as Design material
- Sept 2025 — The first two group members join @A: Yawei Zhao and Yufeng Zeng, both co-supervised PhD students (Yawei with prof. Pan Hui and Yufeng with prof. Chen Liang - both from Computational Media and Arts at HKUST-gz). Yawei works with mixed reality for reactivating public space, while Yufeng works with Creativity Support Tools. Welcome both!
- August 2025 — group founded at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou campus