This image shows Ekin Sila Sahin

Ekin Sila Sahin

M.Sc., B.Arch.

Research Associate
April 2022 - Current

Contact

+49 711 685 81925

Keplerstraße 11
70174 Stuttgart
Germany

Subject

Material-driven computational design and fabrication for self-shaping structures, 4D-printing, large-scale additive manufacturing, self-shaping wood

  1. 2024

    1. Koussa, R., Longo, L., Leder, S., Maierhofer, M., Sahin, E. S., & Menges, A. (2024). Discretised Match: Adaptive Assembly of Timber Components with Dimensional Variability. SIGraDi 2024 - Biodigital Intelligent Systems XXVIII International Conference of the Ibero-American Society for Digital Graphics, 1, 1247–1258. https://sigradi.org/sigradi2024/
    2. Opgenorth, N., Cheng, T., Lauer, P. R. A., Skoury, L., Sahin, E. S., Stark, T., Tahouni, Y., Treml, S., Göbel, M., Kiesewetter, L., Schlopschnat, C., Zorn, M. B., Yang, X., Amtsberg, F., Wagner, H. J., Wood, D., Sawodny, O., Wortmann, T., & Menges, A. (2024). Multi-scalar computational fabrication and construction of bio-based building envelopes – the livMatS biomimetic shell. Fabricate 2024: Creating Resourceful Futures, 22–31. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.11374766.7
    3. Cheng, T., Tahouni, Y., Sahin, E. S., Ulrich, K., Lajewski, S., Bonten, C., Wood, D., Rühe, J., Speck, T., & Menges, A. (2024). Weather-responsive adaptive shading through biobased and bioinspired hygromorphic 4D-printing. Nature Communications, 15, Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54808-8

  2. 2023

    1. Sahin, E. S., Locatelli, D., Orozco, L., Krtschil, A., Wagner, H. J., Menges, A., & Knippers, J. (2023). Feedback-Based Design Method for Spatially-Informed and Structurally-Performative Column Placement in Multi-Story Construction. In P. Yuan & N. Leach (Eds.), Phygital Intelligence.
    2. Sahin, E. S., Cheng, T., Wood, D., Tahouni, Y., Poppinga, S., Thielen, M., Speck, T., & Menges, A. (2023). Cross-Sectional 4D-Printing: Upscaling Self-Shaping Structures with Differentiated Material Properties Inspired by the Large-Flowered Butterwort (Pinguicula grandiflora). Biomimetics, 8, Article 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020233

  3. 2022

    1. Shah, A., Sahin, E. S., Malafey, A., Bechert, S., Maierhofer, M., Knippers, J., & Menges, A. (2022). Assembly-Oriented Design Methodology for Segmented Timber Shells. In S.-d. Xue, J.-z. Wu, & G.-j. Sun (Eds.), Innovation, Sustainability, Legacy: Proceedings of the IASS 2022 Symposium affiliated with APCS 2022 conference (pp. 1526–1537).

Design Studios:

ITECH MSc. Thesis:

  • Shape Shifters – Nadine Aderhold, Bryan Martino, Qu Wang, 2025
  • Programmable Breathing – Peter Ehvert, Alina Turean, 2023

Seminars:

  • Material-Driven Augmented Reality Framework for Self-Forming Wood, 2024
  • Behavioral Design and Fabrication

Ekin Sila Sahin is a research-oriented architect and designer who is deeply interested in the interplay between material, programming, and robotics. Being inspired by natural and responsive systems, she develops computational design methods through which material properties, behaviors, and their performance criteria become the drivers of complex design processes. 

She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the Istanbul Technical University as well as a Master of Science from the Integrative Technologies and Architectural Design Research (ITECH) program at the University of Stuttgart. During her studies, she received several awards and actively contributed to national and international organisations dedicated to developing students of technology and their educational systems.

As part of the Material Programming Research Group at ICD, Ekin’s research focuses on material-driven computational methods for expanding the design and fabrication space of self-shaping structures, with an emphasis on 4D-printing, large-scale additive manufacturing, and self-shaping wood. She has been responsible for a range of projects including the Solar Gate, Self-Forming Curved Wood Furniture, Cross-Sectional 4D-Printing, Adaptive Beauty, Responsive Morphology, and ArchiBioFoam. Her research has been recognised with prizes, including the Leichtbaupreis (2022), Landesbeirat Holz BW Prize (2022), Materialpreis (2023), and the IntCDC Best Publication Award (2025), and exhibited in renowned venues, such as at the London Design Biennale (2023), Florence Design Biennale (2025), and Bundeskunsthalle (2025).

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