Kevin R. Klinger is an Associate Professor of Architecture in the R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning. He was the Founding Director of the Institute for Digital Fabrication at Ball State University until 2016. Kevin has served as a two-term President (03-05) of the Association of Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), an international organization devoted to studying the advances in architecture resulting from influences of digital technology.
Kevin is author and co-editor of the book by Routledge titled: Manufacturing Material Effects: Rethinking Design and Making in Architecture developed in collaboration with Branko Kolarevic. The book frames leading thinkers, designers, and makers from around the world and outlines experimental processes of material exploration through examining various levels of engagement and new forms of architectural production that bring designers deeper into the complexities of making, assembly, and material formulation.
In coursework, Professor Klinger encourages explorations in digitally-driven design, deploying techniques of digital fabrication with an ethic to “connect globally, and make locally,” and strives to both contribute to the discourse on the impact of the digital technological shift, while playing a role in identifying opportunities to engage local industry and community partners. The digital exchange of information is central to this innovative process of architectural production, and demands new forms of collaboration with industry for the future of the discipline—where designers and makers are much more engaged in the total design-through-production process. Designs are devoted to project-based collaborations that result from the intersection of emerging technology with students, industry, community, and research partners.