Oliver teaches in the Master of Architecture and the Bachelor of Environmental Design programs. He is also an Associate Chair of Wood Building Design and Construction and an Associate Faculty member at the Pulp and Paper Centre. He is a licenced architect in Berlin, Germany.
Prior to joining UBC in 2003 as an assistant professor, he taught at the Hochschule für Wirtschaft, Technik, und Kultur in Leipzig, Germany, at the UBC School of Architecture, and as the 2002/03 Oberdick Research and Teaching Fellow at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. At UBC, he teaches design studios, theory seminars, and seminars on digital fabrication, including design-build projects. In addition, he works with students in the Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture program and with Master’s and PhD students with a focus on interdisciplinary studies.
Oliver’s interdisciplinary research projects build on collaborations with wood scientists, engineers, fabricators, and material suppliers. His research focuses on the role of digital technology in the building process and in broader speculations of emerging material culture. His building research and teaching projects explore contemporary fabrication technologies, mass-customization processes, and their implications for ecological design concepts, design methodology, and construction. His design research projects explore the potential of digital wood fabrication. Other projects include Media on the City: The Lee Building, a video project developed and produced in collaboration with Kate Hennessy.
Education
Dipl Ing Arch, TU Berlin
MSAAD, Columbia University
Select publications
Beesley, P. & Neumann, O. (Eds.). (2007). Future wood: Innovation in building design and manufacturing. Toronto, ON: Riverside Architectural Press.