Computational designer

Paniz Farrokhsiar is a computational designer and researcher working on the intersection of architecture, technology, and digital fabrication. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Computational Design at the Department of Architecture, Penn State University, where her research focuses on robotic concrete 3D printing (3DCP) and its challenges at construction scale. Her work spans from developing advanced digital tools for architects to leading design-build research projects.

As the Director of Design Automation at X-Hab 3D, Paniz co-develops generative design software for 3DCP structures, implementing design systems and architectural details with a focus on housing, buildings, and extreme environments. Her role particularly involves integrating design strategies with X-Hab 3D’s unique expeditionary robotic 3D printer capabilities and material properties, ensuring that computational workflows align with the technical realities of large-scale additive construction.

Previously, as a computational designer at iBUILT, she co-developed the codebase for customer-facing generative design software for modular housing. With a portfolio that encompasses the full spectrum of digital design workflows, Paniz has collaborated with multidisciplinary teams on research, development, and fabrication of architectural products across scales—from prototypes of urban furniture to pavilions. Notably, her project “FaBRICKate” received both the Jury Award and the Popular Choice Award in the Architizer A+Awards (2017) in the Brick category.

Paniz holds a master’s in computational design in architecture from Penn State University and a bachelor’s in architectural engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran.