Biologically Inspired Design Research and Studio: AI-Data-Driven Research on Computational Sustainability and Carbon-Positive Scripting and Coding. Sponsored by several smaller grants and since 2018 by the ongoing Climate Resilient Urban Nexus CHoices (CRUNCH) Research Grant.

Selected Awards related to BIM

Winner of the International Award for Excellence for Volume 3 of The International Journal of the Constructed Environment. The Constructed Environment Knowledge Community “New Design Protocols for Industrial-scaled Modes of Production for Carbon Neutral Buildings.” The International Journal of the Constructed Environment is a peer-reviewed journal published by Common Ground Publishing, USA

PREDICTIVE MODELING NETWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE HUMAN-BUILDING ECOSYSTEMS (SHBE) A RESEARCH COORDINATION NETWORK (RCN): Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability. US National Science Foundation Award Abstract #1338851. Network Steering Committee Members: Yong Tao (Thermo/fluid sciences, Zero energy buildings modelling), William Tolone (System modelling human behaviour at urban scale), Yimin Zhu (Construction and infrastructure, life-cycle assessment data), Omer Karaguzel (Integration of physics-based and behavioural model), Richard Feiock (Complex system science, emerging behaviour at community level), Julia Day (Occupant behaviour and energy efficiency, Daylighting design, and Post occupancy evaluation), Chien-Fei Chen (Education for user adaptation of sustainable living), Wei Yan (Building Envelope/materials modelling), Thomas Spiegelhalter (Building architecture, design and performance modelling), Carol Menassa (Predictability of human behaviour with building performance), Mirsad Hadzikadic (Agent-based modelling of complex systems representing social organisations, individual behaviours, and their interactions). Accessed from https://www.shbe.org/people/

Book Information: Agent-based modeling (ABM) is an emerging design and automation modeling approach in Architecture and Engineering. In the past two decades, agent-based models have been increasingly adapted by scientists and practitioners, especially in infrastructure engineering, building designs, urban, geospatial studies, as an effective paradigm for framing the underlying problems of complex and dynamic processes. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is an emerging design and automation modeling approach in Architecture and Engineering. In the past two decades, agent-based models have been increasingly adapted by scientists and practitioners, especially in infrastructure engineering, building designs, urban, geospatial studies, as an effective paradigm for framing the underlying problems of complex and dynamic processes.

Post-Parametric Automation in Design and Construction, Thomas Spiegelhalter, Alfredo Andia, ARTECH House, UK, 2014, 230 pages, ISBN-10: 1608076938, ISBN-13: 978-1608076932

Feng Xu, Umberto Grosso, Thomas Spiegelhalter, Renata Morbiducci. "Parametric-algorithmic, Sea-level-rise Building Design Solutions: Long-term Design Testing and Optimization Scenarios for Miami Beach Buildings in Florida.” Twelfth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices, JOURNAL 2018 Special Focus: No Boundaries Design / Design No Fronteras, Barcelona, Spain, March 2018. Associative Tools used: Rhino, Revit 360, Dynamo, Grasshopper, Ladybug, Octopus and Honeybee.

Thomas Spiegelhalter, Predictive Modeling Network for Performative Health Design, Agents and POE’s Health as Performance Metric, ACSA/ASPPH Fall Conference, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2016

Abstract: Roughly millions of patients every year contract worldwide infections while undergoing surgery, according to the International Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For example, those infections cost billions of dollars in health-care services and millions of lives annually. Ironically, while hospitals are supposed to be designed to promote healing and well being, they can be one of the most stressful of all built environments—they’re often cold, sterile but also infectious, featureless, crowded, and noisy. They same issues apply for other building types for health, well being and even for education. In recent years, medical communities around the world have been incorporating a more salutogenic approach by reemphasizing the vital importance a healthy and active lifestyle has on one’s overall physical and psychological health. This move to a more preventative model is even seen in the World Health Organization’s new definition of health: “a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” As salutogenesis became firmly embraced by physicians and healthcare professionals, the concept began also to multiply into the professions of architecture, design and engineering. It is also more and more integrated in many green building rating institutions and rating system such as the USGBC-LEED, Green Globe, the German DNGB, and the Japanese CASBEE or in the UK BREAAM system.

Research Project: RCN-SEES: Predictive Modeling Network for Sustain-able Human-Building Ecosystems (SHBE). National Science Foundation (NSF) Co-PI, XXXXXXXXX Research Project Title: CRUNCH - Climate Resilient Urban Nexus Choices. Operationalising the Food-Water-Energy Nexus - Theme 1. Robust Knowledge, Indicators and Assessments. PI-USA: FIU Prof. Thomas Spiegelhalter, Research Project Title: CRUNCH - Climate Resilient Urban Nexus Choices. Operationalising the Food-Water-Energy Nexus - Theme 1. Robust Knowledge, Indicators and Assessments. PI-USA: FIU Prof. Thomas Spiegelhalter Research Project Title: CRUNCH - Climate Resilient Urban Nexus Choices. Operationalising the Food-Water-Energy Nexus - Theme 1. Robust Knowledge, Indicators and Assessments. PI-USA: FIU Prof. Thomas Spiegelhalter

Research Project: Automated Fabrication and Assembly: Sekisui Heim, Tokyo, Japan. Thomas Spiegelhalter collaborated with Jun Furuse, and Masayuki Katano from the fully Automated Fabrication and Robot Assembly of Sekisui Heim in Tokyo-Kurohama, Japan, a worldwide leader in automated robot-driven house assembly. Sekisui produces around 13,000 energy-efficient, customized, and prefabricated homes per year, which range from one to three stories. Each day, Sekisui outputs approximately ten three-story houses per automation and robot assembly. The houses are then transported to the job site and assembled in only one day. In Japan, most prefabricated houses are manufactured by using automation, service robotics, and other advanced assistance technologies. The steady success of the main players in Japan’s prefabrication industry like Sekisui Heim, Daiwa House, and Toyota Production System (TPS) demonstrate decades of reliable products and services in the mass customized housing kit industry. Sekisui has one of the world’s most advanced 3-D-/4-D BIM allowing more than 90% of all generic or individual designs and parts-related information to be directly translated into production and assembly operations.

A Comparative Study of Bioclimatic Indicators in Southern California Native Plant Species and Architectural Site Alignment Strategies for Performance-Based Design. Publications: Andrew Lee, Thomas Spiegelhalter. "Climatic Tropism In Buildings: Designing with Natural Response Cycles for Better Performance.” Design Principles & Practices - An International Journal, Volume 5, Number 4, (Los Angeles: Common Ground Publishing, 2012), 10 pgs.

Book Information: Automation, a mixture of algorithms, robots, software, and avatars, is transforming all types of jobs and industries. This book responds to one critical question for the design and construction industry: "how are architects, engineers, and contractors using information technology to further automate their practices?" Addressing the use of new digital technologies, particularly parametric automation for design and construction in the building industry, this book looks at how technologically advanced architectural and engineering practices are semi-automating their design processes by using sophisticated algorithms to transform their workflows. The book also documents a set of firms that are further advancing automation by using pre-fabrication, modularization, and custom designs via robotics. Market Engineers; Architects; Building Designers; Construction Managers; Contractors; & Developers
Amazon link:

Peer Reviewed Research Journals, Papers, Book Chapters (Selected):

Selected Research Projects:

Research Project: CRUNCH (Climate-Resilient-Urban-Nexus-Choices). CRUNCH is a multi-disciplinary project with an international consortium of project partners and cities addressing all three sectors of food, water, and energy through the integrative Food-Water-Energy-Nexus approach. It aims to support local decision-makers, practitioners, and civil society organizations by translating the key findings of an in-depth review of literature, knowledge, and research evidence on the FWE-Nexus into the design of Urban Living Labs (ULL). The Miami proposal aims to create a carbon-neutral, data-driven planning and 80 years scenario tool for integrated decision making using the Urban Living Lab (ULL) approach. Identifying a data and mapping baseline for the city’s needs, developing the tool and framework, testing and analyzing the data-driven models using different carbon-neutral and resilient scenarios from now to 2100. PI: Prof. Thomas Spiegelhalter with research partners at other ULL’s at Keio University, Tokyo (Prof. Wanglin), University of Portsmouth, (UK-project coordinator), City of Portsmouth, Culinova/Expert or Micro Technologies, Ltd. (UK), Aecom Ltd (UK), Knowhow Information Ltd. (UK), Sustainable Food Cities.org (UK), City of Glasgow (UK); Technische Universitaet Eindhoven and City of Eindhoven (NL); Gdansk University of Technology, and City of Gdansk, Poland; City of Gdansk, Uppsala University Sweden, City of Uppsala, Sweden; 100 Resilient Cities New York City (USA): National Taiwan University, and Chinese Taipei City. Sponsors: EU Belmont, EU Commission, Belmont Forum, Intelligent Europe, Sustainable Urbanization Global Initiative (SUGI). Grant: $1,9 Mio ($484,000 for FIU CARTA), Completed in Nov. 2022.
FIU Miami research platform:
IDSS Carbon-Neutral City Scenarios for South Miami and Miami Beach:

Selected Research Projects:
Selected Books:

Agent-Based Design Technology and Automation in the Built Environment, Thomas Spiegelhalter, Hwang Yi, Birkhaeuser Publisher, Berlin-New York, 150 pgs., ISBN XXXXXX. In production.

FIU-CRUNCH Design Studios 2018-2021, Research Exhibition (Climate-Resilient-Urban-Nexus-Choices). Exhibition at the Miami Center for Architecture & Design of the American Architects Institute (AIA) in Miami Downtown,. April 30th to July 15th, 2021.

Selected Research Experiments and Optimizations:

Principal of Generative AI-SynBio for Blue-Green-Infrastructures FIU-Carbon-Positive Research Design Studio Projects https://crunch.fiu.edu/ Miami Beach Urban Living Lab (ULL) Team: https://crunch.fiu.edu/about/team/

Thomas Spiegelhalter, Adam Bierman. "Automating Carbon Neutral Design and Practice for Optimization, Manufacturing, and Post-occupancy Evaluation. “The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental, CG, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12 pgs.

Thomas Spiegelhalter, Design Agent based Real-Time-Scenario Planning and Benchmarking for Salutogenic Environments, UIA General Session – Design Works, Sub Theme: Nature, Category or Topic: 9. Building Science & Engineering, Union of International Architects, World Congress, UIA Seoul, 2017

DYNAMO-RHYNAMO-BIM-User Group, bi-weekly cloud sessions with Designers, Architects, Engineers, Contractors, Programmers, and Students, both novices & experts, that share, investigate and build tools for the changing landscape of the Generative and Associative Design Industry: Dynamo Studio, Rhynamo, REVIT (Architecture/MEP/Structure), GBS, Formit, Fusion 360, Maya, 3D-Max, Solid Works, Robotics, Navis and Infraworks 360, CATIA, Python, and Math Lab as well as any other form of design, fabrication, additive manufacturing and robotics related work flows. Intl. Autodesk (AUGI) Link: