Travis McCarra
Travis McCarra

Travis McCarra is a Houston based designer and artist. With a protean philosophy his professional work centers around applying emergent computing techniques to 3d, graphic, and interaction design. He currently works as Lead Designer and Interactive-Tech Czar at multi-disciplinary design firm METALAB, as well as a Researcher for the UHGBC – University of Houston Green Building Components. He previously worked at EMBT Arquitectes in Barcelona, contributing as the Lead Designer for the paneled facades of the 2010 World Expo Spanish Pavilion in Shanghai, from conceptual geometries to final details and also as a Designer for the interior build-out for the Camper Shoes Flagship Store in Sevilla. As an artist he creates art projects and installations that attempt to combine digital sophistication with visceral and collective experiences. His work has been exhibited in various galleries and shows in Texas and Spain. Recent exhibitions include a collection of algorithmically defined serigraph prints shown at Winter Street Studios and Lawndale Art Center (July 2010), an architectural installation proposal in Art Week Austin (April 2008), an environmentally responsive installation with Metalab at Houston’s Permitting Center (May 2011), and an interactive drawing project exhibited at Spring Street Studios (July 2011).

David Fano
CASE Design

David Fano established CASE Design in 2008. He previously worked at SHoP Architects, where he was Director of Technology Research. His responsibilities included managing technology R&D initiatives, working with project teams to ensure the successful implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM), and developing “direct to fabrication” initiatives with software manufacturers and fabricators through the use of BIM. He contributed technology expertise on numerous projects, including a 41-story rental tower in New York City and The New Seaport – a 860,000 sq. ft. multi-use development in New York City’s Historic Seaport District. Since 2006, David has been an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation where he teaches seminars and workshops focusing on the impact of technology on design processes. David received his Master of Architecture with honors from Columbia University where he was the recipient of the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize and the Computer Aided Design Honor Award.

Gil Akos / Ronnie Parsons
Studio Mode

Studio Mode/modeLab is a Brooklyn-based design studio and research collective founded by Ronnie Parsons and Gil Akos. As a studio committed to design as a form of applied research, Mode engages in practices that have a requisite and deep connection to material and the processes by which it is formed and informed.

Studio Mode has completed and collaborated on a number of projects, varying in scale and complexity from interactive installations to stadia design. Mode has exhibited throughout North America and Europe in shows that most recently include System:System by Random Number and Spontaneous Schooling at the Nous Gallery. Ronnie and Gil currently teach at Pratt Institute and have previously taught studios, seminars, and workshops at institutions such as California College of the Arts, University of Minnesota, University of Toronto, and University of Kentucky as well as Yale, Princeton, and Columbia Universities.