Alain is an Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urban Planning and Design (DUPAD). He is the Programme Director of the Master of Urban Design. He is a Council Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design (HKIUD). Alain has taught design studio at the AA, MIT, Columbia GSAPP, and the Berlage Institute.
His research interests are in “how to measure urban design” i.e. spatial configurations of urban qualities. He is the lead author of the 3D spatial design network analysis software (3D sDNA) used by urban designer and researcher worldwide. sDNA provided more than 400 built environment variables for the biobankUK leading to award-winning health research. sDNA is a 3D network science-based smart analytics software of urban morphology. 3D sDNA enables volumetric urban design configuration analytics providing unique cognitive morphometrics to understand urban form impacts on economic, social, health, and environmental performance of large conurbations in the USA, UK, France, and China. Before joining the University of Hong Kong, he was Senior Lecturer in Urban Design at the Cardiff University’s School of Geography and Planning.
Alain was previously Executive and Board Director at the global consultancy Space Syntax Ltd. He has directed large-scale spatial policy analysis, urban design policy formulation and evidence-based spatial and innovative urban design in major cities including Paris, London, Boston, Shanghai. He has provided consulting services to the Greater London Authority and the London Boroughs. He advised on urban design innovation leading international urban design practices and developers. He developed and led innovative services and operational research projects and managed more than 80 large-scale spatial transformation projects.
At University College London (UCL) he was Senior Research Fellow. His work has been widely published in international professional journals. In the UK he has been a member of various research project advisory panels at national level. Currently, he is on the advisory scientific committee of Efficacity a French R&D PPP centre dedicated to energy transition in urban territories that brings together the skills of over 100 researchers from industry and public research. He is a founding director of the international CHORA Urban Institute, and an advisor to national research funding institutions in Europe, North America and Asia.
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