Lawson Spencer

Lawson Spencer is an instructor at Cornell University in the Department of Design Tech. As a computational designer, Spencer’s work broadly investigates parametric modeling methods to automate fabrication workflows and structurally simulate innovative building assemblies using finite element analysis (FEA). Within this framework, the majority of Lawson’s research questions the role of digital fabrication to reduce the amount of material required to assemble/construct a building element (beam, column, etc.) while ensuring the element maintains structural viability. As such, Spencer’s work is highly interdisciplinary between building technology, structural engineering, and material science.

As a roboticist, Lawson Spencer has developed several robotic workflows for subtractive manufacturing with timber at the Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and advised on robotic routines for additive manufacturing with concrete at the Cornell College of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Lawson has previously worked at HANNAH Design Office and was a Research Associate at the Cornell Robotic Construction Laboratory (RCL). Recently, Spencer was the project lead for the extraordinary HANNAH design project, Monarchs: A House in Six Parts at Coachella 2024. Spencer’s research has been published at conferences and journals such as ACADIA, AAG, Construction Robotics, and Architectural Intelligence. Spencer received his Master of Architecture at Cornell University in 2021.