Faruk Can Ünal is an architect and researcher specializing in computational design in architecture. He is currently an associate professor at Yeditepe University, Faculty of Architecture in Turkey. His work explores how digital technologies transform architectural thinking, representation, and production, with a particular focus on computational workflows, data-driven methods, and immersive environments.
He graduated from Dokuz Eylül University as an architect (2010) and received his MSc (2013) and PhD (2019) degrees from Istanbul Technical University, Architectural Design Computing Programme. Throughout his career, he has developed a research profile centered on computational design, digital transformation, and the integration of augmented reality into architectural processes. In his MSc research, he explored the use of augmented reality as a tool for an interactive architectural guide for the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. During his PhD studies, he shifted his focus to the early stages of conceptual design, developing a model that presents site-specific local data through augmented reality to support informed decision-making by architects.
He completed his post-doctoral studies at KU Leuven, Faculty of Architecture in Belgium (2023), where he further expanded his work on immersive environments. His post-doctoral research explored the activation of urban waiting spaces through social extended reality (XR), offering insights into how immersive technologies can contribute to more inclusive urban design. During this time, he also served as a conference team member for the 40th eCAADe Conference (2022), hosted at KU Leuven under the theme “Co-creating the Future: Inclusion in and through Design”.
He has contributed to a wide range of scholarly and professional activities, including publications, reviews, funded research, and teaching work. His published work appears in leading journals and conferences, covering topics such as AI-aided architectural vizualization, augmented and extended reality in design processes, algorithmic and data-driven methods, immersive sketching environments, and computational approaches to transparency in design. He regularly serves as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals such as the International Journal of Architectural Computing, Frontiers of Architectural Research, and the Journal of Computational Design, as well as for international conferences including CAADRIA, eCAADe, and ASA. He has also served as a reviewer for national research funding bodies such as TÜBİTAK and received one of the competitive SALT Research Funds in 2020. He has received recognition in architectural competitions and served as a jury member. In addition to his research activities, he teaches both foundational and advanced courses in digital representation and computational design for architecture.