The future of low-carbon construction.
We develop high-performance, low-carbon building systems with global construction manufacturers.
Forma is a design and technology studio focused on expanding access to high-quality, low-carbon affordable housing and building systems through innovation. Working across the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction, we collaborate with local partners to develop lasting, profitable solutions for sustainable construction in context. Our goal is to do more with less, leveraging our research-driven expertise in digital design, multi-physics performance simulation, and automated construction. Our work is rooted in quantifiable, evidence-based technological advances and aspires toward a more equitable and climate-resilient future. Reimagining widely available materials such as concrete and earth, we design and engineer high-tech tools, novel construction systems, and beautiful spaces through innovative building forms and materials.
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Mohamed Ismail
CO-FOUNDER
Mohamed Ismail is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at UVA, where he works with global partners to design structures that sustainably meet the increasingly urgent needs of the Global South. With a background in architecture and structural engineering, Ismail received a PhD in Building Technology at MIT, studying the application of structural design to housing insecurity in developing regions.
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Sandy Curth
CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Alexander (Sandy) Curth is a practicing computational designer and architect. As a PhD candidate in the MIT Design and Computation group he has developed tools for democratization and accessibility in the realm of large scale additive manufacturing, creating novel systems and design tools for 3d printing housing with low carbon materials like earth. Professionally Sandy has worked on projects ranging from the Long Now Foundation’s 10,000 Year Clock to facade engineering with Zaha Hadid architects.
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Kiley Feickert
CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER
Kiley Feickert is a practicing architect and PhD candidate in the Building Technology (BT) group at MIT. Kiley aims to reduce embodied carbon in buildings and increase access to affordable construction by optimizing structural systems for material efficiency. She also studies how to effectively deploy environmental policy in the building sector. Prior to joining the BT group at MIT, Kiley practiced as an architectural designer. Most recently, she worked on the design and construction of Google’s headquarters in London and Mountain View.
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Eduardo Gascón Alvarez
CO-FOUNDER
Eduardo (Edu) Gascón Alvarez is an architect and researcher working on ways to achieve a thermally comfortable built environment at minimal material and energetic cost. He is a PhD candidate in the Building Technology group at MIT, advised by Professor Caitlin Mueller and Professor Les Norford. His current research focuses on the design and simulation of low-carbon building components that improve the resiliency of buildings to heat. Before MIT, he completed his Bachelor's and Master's studies in Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and worked for four years at BBG, a structural consultancy firm based in Barcelona.
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Caitlin Mueller
CO-FOUNDER
Caitlin Mueller is an Associate Professor at MIT's Department of Architecture and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in the Building Technology Program, where she has led the Digital Structures research group since 2014. She works at the creative interface of architecture, structural engineering, and computation, and focuses on new computational design and digital fabrication methods for innovative, high-performance buildings and structures that empower a more sustainable and equitable future. Mueller holds three degrees from MIT in Architecture, Computation, and Building Technology, and one from Stanford in Structural Engineering.
FORMA Floor Systems
1. Shaped Precast Concrete Slab
Forma’s precast concrete slabs are engineered to remove material where it's not required, resulting in elegant, shaped structures that save up to 60% compared to conventional concrete flat slabs. Our optimized designs are tailored to the specific manufacturing capabilities of our partners and the structural requirements of each context.
2. Shaped Beam and Block Slab
Forma’s shaped beam and block slab design improves the material efficiency of standard systems by up to 50% without compromising safety or code compliance. We achieve this by simultaneously optimizing the geometry of both the block and the beam for their specific loading conditions and material properties.
FORMA Enclosure Systems
3. Multi-cellular Clay Bricks
Forma’s multi-cellular clay bricks are designed to provide enhanced thermal performance at minimal material cost. Our optimization methods account for the component’s insulation properties as well as its heat storage capacity, an increasingly important feature for improving the resilience of buildings to heat. This process results in a brick geometry precisely tuned for the specific thermal requirements of any given climate.
