Research direction: Computational Sustainable Design — innovative sustainable energy building envelopes, urban-scale sustainability analytics, and AI-augmented design tools

Tianyi Chen is an architectural doctoral graduate from the National University of Singapore (NUS), who is serving as an Associate Research Fellow and Master’s Supervisor at the Laboratory of Architectural Algorithm and Application (Lab. AAA), School of Architecture, Southeast University. He received his M.Arch from the Architectural Association (AA DRL) and MAS CAAD from ETH Zurich, and his B.Arch from Hunan University. Prior to his academic career, he practiced as an architect at Aedas and 10 Design in Hong Kong. Currently, he is the Co-Leader of IEA-PVPS Task 15 C1 (BIPV in Digital Environment)

His research centers on Computational Sustainable Design, bridging digital intelligence with sustainable building practice across multiple scales. This encompasses three interconnected directions: (1) innovative sustainable energy building envelopes, including Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) and modular agrivoltaic facade systems that integrate photovoltaic technology with vertical farming; (2) urban-scale sustainability analytics, employing GPU-accelerated simulation and data-driven methods to assess building energy consumption, solar generation potential, and their implications for urban energy policy; and (3) AI-augmented design tools, developing intelligent BIM workflows and machine learning-driven optimization platforms for sustainable building design and construction.

As Principal Investigator or Co-PI, he has led multiple research grants including the EMA–Shell Partnership Grant, NUS (Suzhou) Research Institute Grant, Heritage Research Grant from NHB, and NUS–USyd Ignition Grant. He has published over 30 SCI papers, holds professional certifications including WELL AP, LEED GA, and BCA Green Mark AP, and has completed 200+ manuscript reviews for 35 international journals.