Caitlin Mueller

Caitlin Mueller is a researcher, designer, and educator working at the interface of architecture and structural engineering.  She is currently an Associate Professor in the Building Technology Program, where she leads the Digital Structures research group.  

As a researcher, Mueller focuses on developing new computational methods and tools for synthesizing architectural and structural intentions in early-stage design.  She also works in the field of digital fabrication, with a focus on linking high structural performance with new methods of architectural making.  In addition to her digital work, she conducts research on the nature of collaboration between architects and engineers from a historical perspective.  Mueller also aims for interdisciplinary learning and integration in her teaching efforts, which include subjects in structural design and computational methods.
 
Digital Structures 
Professor Mueller's research group, Digital Structures, works at the interface of architecture, structural engineering, and computation, focusing on the synthetic integration of creative and technical goals in the design and fabrication of buildings, bridges, and other large-scale structures. The group is particularly interested in how digital techniques and tools can play an unexpected, collaborative role in these processes.  
 
MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) 
The MCSC facilitates interdisciplinary collaborations within MIT and empowers industry partners to usher in, adapt to, and prosper in a decarbonized economy and world. Research goals include linking stated company goals to value chains, piloting cross-industry technology, process, and organizational change; and embedding sustainability practice throughout workforce and university education. Professor Mueller is currently Associate Director. 
 
Odds and Mods 
ODDS & MODS is a research and design platform for material circularity in architecture. Through projective design, critical thinking, computation, and machine learning (AI) ODDS & MODS seeks to create new architectural possibilities for the reuse of standardized materials (MODS) and geometrically irregular materials (ODDS), that until now have limited the scale up of circular approaches to design and construction. The initiative is co-led by Professors Caitlin Mueller and Sheila Kennedy.