When it comes to architecture, Julia Koerner is teaching students to think outside of the box.

Koerner, an associate adjunct professor in UCLA Architecture and Urban Design with collaborations in Academy Award-winning costume designs, works on innovative design techniques – such as 3D printing – in the creation of sustainable architecture, fashion and other products. She teaches one-year research studios in which students create products using computational design techniques and biomimicry – the emulation of nature’s systems.

Using Grasshopper, a computational design program, students can build and customize 3D models, said Jared Miao, a graduate student in the AUD school enrolled in Koerner’s studio.

Maryam Abdal, an AUD graduate student, said students in Koerner’s studio this year used these 3D-printing methods to design aqua visors and 3D-printed goggles inspired by the 2028 Summer Olympics.

“Architecture doesn’t immediately only mean building houses, but architecture is so much more beyond that,” Koerner said. “Architects work in so many different fields and are so important in so many different industries.”

Abdal said she was new to 3D printing and computational design. Koerner’s work across different fields of design inspired Abdal to enroll in her research studio, she said.

“Coming here, there was a big learning curve at the start, because I was working with things I had never worked with before,” she said. “But because of Julia and because of the other students around me – and how helpful everyone has been – I feel like now I’ve gotten such a good grip over these things that I was lacking in.”

Koerner added that she teaches students to consider how existing materials can be recycled and used to help buildings adapt to the changing climate. Her students designed housing facades that act as temporary shading devices for existing buildings, Koerner said.

Abdal said Koerner encouraged students to reduce excess structural support and design sustainable products with reusable materials to minimize waste for their projects.

The use of biomaterials – materials derived from biological organisms – and alternative building methods can promote sustainability in architecture, Koerner said. She added that using 3D-printing techniques in housing can both diversify buildings and be more cost-efficient.

Miao added that 3D printing can often be wasteful, making it essential that architects are mindful of the amount of material they use.

“It (3D printing) could be a compounding, waste-heavy practice,” Miao said. “But if you know exactly what your final product looks like, the exact amount of material you need, and keep it to that, then it’s a more sustainable way of creating.”

Koerner’s class environment is highly collaborative, allowing students to learn from each other, Miao said.

Abdal said that learning about Koerner’s projects encouraged her to explore nontraditional sectors of architecture.

“That just showed me that honing in on your niche and really mastering whatever technology or whatever technique or idea or design it is, mastering that is what will maybe take you forward and make you known,” she said.