Larry Sass

University of California San Diego, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Larry Sass is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of architecture, robotics, and embodied cognition. His work fundamentally rethinks how architects design and build, arguing that physical making is not separate from digital design but essential to it. In his most influential paper, "Embodied Design Cognition: Action-Based Formalizations in Architectural Design" (2014, 4 citations), Sass frames design knowledge as formalizable physical actions, proposing new frameworks for tools that are more interactive and integrated with our environment. He extends this in "Designerly Pick and Place: Coding Physical Model Making to Inform Material-Based Robotic Interaction" (2017, 5 citations), where he develops methods for robotic fabrication that are informed by the tactile, material logic of physical model making. His earlier work, "Breaking down brick walls" (2009, 2 citations), reminds us that architectural designs are not just 3D objects; they must translate into real-world materials and processes, where physical prototypes remain essential. Though his citation counts are modest, Sass’s contributions are foundational to a new research agenda—one that sees the architect as a coder of physical actions, not just digital forms, and that prepares the profession for a future of materially-aware, robotic construction.