MAS.S61: Nikolaos Vlavianos, MIT Architecture

Towards an Architectural Metaverse: from Manual 3D scanning of Machu Picchu to Fully Autonomous Digital Twins of Industrial Spaces
Nikolaos Vlavianos is a PhD Candidate in Design and Computation at the MIT Architecture Department. His research focuses at the intersection of architecture, media theory, and cognitive science. In his PhD dissertation, Nikolaos employs state-of-the-art technology to 3D scan, visualize and simulate the monastery of Simonos Petra in Athos, Greece in XR. His research proposes/hypothesizes that human behavioral changes in space are measurable, and that the nature of these changes can be codified through self-reporting techniques and continuous measurement of psychological and physiological data in XR. Through his research, he has digitized large-scale sites around the world, led aerial 3D scanning operations in Machu Picchu, Peru; Miidera, Kyoto, Japan; Monticello, Virginia USA; Cappadocia, Turkey. More recently, he leads the Digital Transformation strategy of the Ways of Seeing, an MIT award winning project in Afghanistan. Nikolaos holds an M.S. in Architecture Studies (SMArchS Computation) from MIT, an M.S. in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University, and a Bachelors in Architecture & Engineering from NTU, Athens.