t: 1.210.204.5724
e: lawsonleespencer@gmail.com
i: @lawson_spencer
Lawson Spencer is an instructor at Cornell University in the Department of Design Tech. As a computational designer, Lawson’s work broadly investigates parametric modeling methods to automate fabrication workflows and structurally simulate innovative building assemblies using finite element analysis (FEA). Within this framework, most of Lawson’s research questions the role of digital fabrication in reducing the amount of material required to assemble/construct a building element (beam, column, etc.) while ensuring the element maintains structural viability. As such, Lawson’s work is highly interdisciplinary, involving building technology, structural engineering, and material science.
As a roboticist, Lawson has developed several robotic workflows for subtractive manufacturing with timber at the Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and advised on robotic routines for additive manufacturing with concrete at the Cornell College of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Lawson received his Master of Architecture from Cornell University in 2021. He then worked at HANNAH Design Office and was a Research Associate at the Cornell Robotic Construction Laboratory (RCL) for two and a half years before teaching full-time. While working at HANNAH, Lawson was the project lead for “Monarchs: A House in Six Parts” at Coachella 2024. Lawson’s research has been published at conferences and journals such as ACADIA, AAG, Construction Robotics, and Architectural Intelligence, and several others.
