Sam Salamatian

I'm an architect and researcher working at the intersection of earth architecture, robotic fabrication, and additive manufacturing — currently as a Research Associate at the Institut für Tragwerksentwurf (ITE), TU Braunschweig, Germany.

My path started in architectural practice in Iran, moved through a master's focused on traditional adobe vaulting techniques, and led to large-scale earth 3D printing research at IAAC in Barcelona before landing in Braunschweig. Alongside that, I build small coding and data-visualization side projects — partly as tools, partly to keep learning.

Experience

Research Associate · TU Braunschweig, Germany

Focus on robotic automation and additive manufacturing in architecture.

Robotic Additive Manufacturing · IAAC, Barcelona, Spain

Print-parameter exploration and manipulation; developed customized design and analysis tools for large-scale 3D printing with earth.

  • Saudi Arabia Venice Pavilion, 3DPA Department of IAAC (May–Sept 2023)
  • 1:1-scale roof 3D-printing prototype, Valldaura, using a WASP crane
  • Living Prototype, Berlin Expo (showcased Dec 2022 – Jan 2023)
  • Robotic Fabrication Exhibition, Berlin — with ITKE, CITA, WASP, COBOD, and FibR

Architect

Rammed-earth villa design, the Karaj theatre centre, residential apartments, and interior design.

Education

M.Sc. Architectural Design

Focus on earth architecture and traditional adobe vaulting techniques. Ranked 1st nationally in the master's entrance exam for architecture.

B.Sc. Architectural Design

The 3rd most prestigious architecture programme in Iran.

Further education

Advanced Earth Architecture comprehensive course; AVD course at the Auroville Earth Institute, India, focused on compression-structure design and analysis.

Skills & Languages

Fabrication

  • Robotic arms & large-scale 3D printing
  • Earth / additive manufacturing
  • Print-parameter development

Design & computation

  • Parametric & computational design
  • Custom design/analysis tooling
  • Architectural design

Coding

  • Python (data cleaning, scraping)
  • Angular / TypeScript
  • Data visualization (D3, WebGL)

Languages

  • English — IELTS Academic 7.5
  • German — A2
  • Persian — Native
  • Spanish & Arabic — Basic