معرفی
Sam Jacoby is Professor of Architectural and Urban Design Research at the Royal College of Art, where he serves as Research Lead of the School of Architecture and Director of the Laboratory for Design and Machine Learning. With extensive research leadership experience, he is responsible for School-wide research strategy and management, while also innovating in research-led teaching through unique programs that equip graduates with knowledge and design research skills to address emerging challenges in both practice and academia.
Dr. Jacoby earned a Dr.-Ing. from the Technische Universität Berlin and an AA Diploma from the Architectural Association School of Architecture. He has taught in 12 academic programs across 6 architectural schools in the UK and Germany, directing PhD, MPhil, and MRes research-degree programs, and leading postgraduate design studios and history and theory seminars. He was founding Director of the MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design: Projective Cities program at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (2009–19) and Professor of Architecture, Design, and Building Typology at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart (2016).
As a design researcher, Jacoby advances socio-spatial impact through mixed methods informed by architecture, architectural history, urban design, and interdisciplinary approaches. His work examines spatialized governmentality, socio-spatial histories, housing design standardization, typological analysis, data-driven methods, and community-led development. Current research focuses on data-driven and evidence-based design, innovations in design research, and intergenerational problems like wellbeing, climate crisis, and social justice in relation to social values created by the built environment. His publication portfolio demonstrates strong trends toward machine learning applications in architecture, comparative housing studies (particularly England-Chile-China), pandemic housing impacts, and the integration of computational methods with traditional architectural research.
Professor Jacoby has secured significant research funding including projects on managed coastal retreat, housing standardization, architectural typologies through machine learning, collective forms in China, and spatial design and wellbeing. His research collaborations span multiple international institutions including Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Shanghai University, and Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
He supervises research students including Raül Avilla Royo (completed) and Yakim Milev (current), and leads the Laboratory for Design and Machine Learning, which conducts experimental research into new methodologies at the intersection of machine learning, data processing, and visualisation for emerging design processes. The Laboratory's projects include the London Housing Data Visualisation Platform, The Home, the Household, and Covid-19, Hong Kong Housing, and London Housing policy research.
