Dr. Karen Bar Sinai

Biography

Karen Lee Bar-Sinai is an Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design, specializing in Materials Design. Her research delves into the relationships between matter, environment, and technology, focusing on innovative tools to rethink materials and design across multiple scales. An accomplished licensed architect, Karen holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, a Master's in Cities from the London School of Economics where she was a Chevening Scholar, and a PhD in Architecture from the Technion. Her doctoral work involved developing cross-scalar methods to reconstitute found materials such as desert sand into architectural landscape structures through robotic tools. Currently, as a Marie Curie Fellow at the Technical University of Munich, she investigates the modulation of environmental performance through collective robotic construction. Throughout her career, Karen co-founded SAYA/Design Change, focusing on spatial visions for territorial disputes and has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in Architecture and Landscape Architecture at prestigious institutions, including the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and the Technion. Her publications span leading conferences and journals, addressing materials and design practices, bio-based materials, and the integration of robotics in environmental tasks.

Research Interests

Courses