Principal Biography:

Albert Vass graduated from Miami University in 1992 with a degree in architecture and a minor in art history. After graduation he worked with firms in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio while starting to develop his interest in the potential harmony between technology and design. During this time he had a solo exhibit of his oil paintings at the Gallery Arno in 1992. In 1995 he was nominated for the Chrysler Award by the innovative organic architect and Bruce Goff progeny, Bart Prince. Albert received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Arizona in 1996 while teaching an innovative form of architectural history focusing on the synergy among the arts. He also took many graduate level painting courses. His long running solo exhibition at The Alamo gallery from 1994 to 1996 introduced his style of painting to many.

In 1996 Albert moved to Venice, California. He became an innovative design leader at the Jerde partnership. During the next decade he designed many intense multi-use projects using innovative 3d design techniques which he pioneered. In 1999 he was a guest speaker at Paulo Soleri’s Paradox Conference at Arcosanti. In 2002, his technique is quoted and his work was printed in James Steele’s book Architecture and Computers. In 2004 he had a solo exhibition at the IDA Gallery, which was visited by a number of local celebrities.

In 2006 He left his fulfilling 10 year tenure at the Jerde Partnership to start Studio Vass, Inc. During this time he continues to create paintings, photographs, music and film in the name of perceptual innovation and sensory phenomena. His website, avass.com, which he maintains as a personal creative diary and gallery, continues to inspire visitors from around the world.

Qualifications:

Al Vass combines art, architecture and technology to develop design and its representation. Focusing on digital platforms that allow him to work in all scales simultaneously, he originates and refines key design ideas–from concepts to details–into three-dimensional representations that add layers of experiential complexity to many projects. His digital design explorations have influenced many projects.

His notable contributions to the built environment include the shape of the undulating glass roof crowning the central plaza of Zlote Tarasy in Warsaw, where he used a cloth simulator created for the game industry to design the sensuous glass roof structure. The deflectors for the simulation were also incorporated into the project's interior design. His explorations of an interactive media orb forms the centerpiece of the technologically integrated commercial center of Cyberport, Hong Kong’s new high-tech community. The egg-like canyon shapes forming Caretta Shiodome, Dentsu’s new headquarters in Tokyo, were created by experimental subtractive operations. The award-winning port cochere of Casino Morongo Resort and Spa was designed with sacred geometries in mind using a rotated torus.

While at Jerde he taught designers his techniques of 3d design using 3d studio max and other programs that serve to break vocational boundaries within the architectural profession. As an innovative design leader, he introduced and integrated 3d printing technologies to the firm in 2005. Using these inventive design, visualization and documentation techniques, Al and his wife Unchu helped design Robert Graham’s and Angelica Houston’s artist studio in Venice. With Studio Vass, Inc., he continues to inspire and inform the architectural community with his innovative design methods using the digital arts, primarily with 3d studio max, while deriving inspiration from visceral artistic explorations.

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