Born in Cologne, Germany, Kai Franz lives and works in Providence. His practice could be described as a kind of Arte Povera à la Digitalis. He received undergraduate degrees in architecture from RWTH Aachen and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich and earned an MArch from Princeton University in 2012.
Parallel to his studies in architecture, Franz developed an interest in computer science and investigated its integration into the architectural design process in RISD’s graduate Digital + Media program. He has worked as a researcher for the Chair of Information Architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and in the Rotterdam and NYC Offices of Metropolitan Architecture. He was nominated for a Fulbright in 2009, awarded the KPF Traveling Fellowship in 2011 and was artist in residence at the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Germany in 2013–14. Since 2007 Franz has taught fine arts and architecture at ETH Zurich, Princeton, McGill University and RISD.
Franz’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in the US and Germany. Recent projects include Plopper (Dual-Axis Precision Deposition System) and Pixilerations v.9. In September 2014 Edition Solitude published Serial Nature, a book that critically reflects on Kai Franz’s practice and includes contributions from practitioners, theorists and historians from the disciplines of art, architecture, media theory and philosophy. The publication coincided with a solo exhibition at the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany.
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
FOUND 1005-22 - STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitExperimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
FOUND 1005-22
STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitExperimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: TH | 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM; TH | 9:30 AM - 12:30 PMInstructor(s): Amy Goodwin, Kai FranzLocation(s): What Cheer Studios, Room 101Enrolled / Capacity: 20Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Studio: Spatial Dynamics is a studio-based inquiry into physical, spatial and temporal phenomena. The study of Spatial Dynamics is rooted in the necessity to consider forces and their effects on structure. Force is the consequence of energy. In Spatial Dynamics the energy and resultant forces are studied in actual motion, stability, and materiality. The structures of physical, spatial and temporal phenomena are studied through additive, subtractive, transformative, iterative, and ephemeral processes both analog and digital. Mediums and materials that are commonly explored and utilized have a broad range of characteristics due to their organic and synthetic sources. Most assignments utilize methods such as preliminary sketches and diagrams in research, planning, and experimental processes. Assignments reference the histories and theories of art and design and include areas of inquiry that extend to disciplines such as the sciences, music, dance, film, and theater.
Enrollment is limited to First-Year Undergraduate Students.
Major Requirement | BFA
FOUND 1005-01 - STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitExperimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
FOUND 1005-01
STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitExperimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM; T | 9:30 AM - 12:30 PMInstructor(s): Kai FranzLocation(s): College Building, Room 521Enrolled / Capacity: 20Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Studio: Spatial Dynamics is a studio-based inquiry into physical, spatial and temporal phenomena. The study of Spatial Dynamics is rooted in the necessity to consider forces and their effects on structure. Force is the consequence of energy. In Spatial Dynamics the energy and resultant forces are studied in actual motion, stability, and materiality. The structures of physical, spatial and temporal phenomena are studied through additive, subtractive, transformative, iterative, and ephemeral processes both analog and digital. Mediums and materials that are commonly explored and utilized have a broad range of characteristics due to their organic and synthetic sources. Most assignments utilize methods such as preliminary sketches and diagrams in research, planning, and experimental processes. Assignments reference the histories and theories of art and design and include areas of inquiry that extend to disciplines such as the sciences, music, dance, film, and theater.
Enrollment is limited to First-Year Undergraduate Students.
Major Requirement | BFA
FOUND 1005-08 - STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitExperimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
FOUND 1005-08
STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitExperimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: W | 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM; W | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PMInstructor(s): Kai FranzLocation(s): College Building, Room 521Enrolled / Capacity: 20Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Studio: Spatial Dynamics is a studio-based inquiry into physical, spatial and temporal phenomena. The study of Spatial Dynamics is rooted in the necessity to consider forces and their effects on structure. Force is the consequence of energy. In Spatial Dynamics the energy and resultant forces are studied in actual motion, stability, and materiality. The structures of physical, spatial and temporal phenomena are studied through additive, subtractive, transformative, iterative, and ephemeral processes both analog and digital. Mediums and materials that are commonly explored and utilized have a broad range of characteristics due to their organic and synthetic sources. Most assignments utilize methods such as preliminary sketches and diagrams in research, planning, and experimental processes. Assignments reference the histories and theories of art and design and include areas of inquiry that extend to disciplines such as the sciences, music, dance, film, and theater.
Enrollment is limited to First-Year Undergraduate Students.
