Home > People > Theodore Zamenopoulos
Theodore Zamenopoulos
Theodore Zamenopoulos is a Lecturer in the Design Group and has
expertise in the application of complexity theory and methods in design
research and practice. He previously worked as a Research Fellow on European
and UK funded research projects related to the theme of complexity and design.
He is a professionally qualified architect and has practiced architecture in
Greece. His academic research lies in the areas of design theory, design
cognition, social theory of design, design computing, computer-aided design,
design learning, complexity research methods, mathematics, and artificial
intelligence. A central aspect of his research is the identification of the
conditions that are responsible for our ability to recognize and address design
tasks. For that purpose he conducts empirical as well as mathematical and
computational studies on the neurological, cognitive and social level of design
activity. This research feeds into a general research programme of developing
and using technologies to support design and design learning. He also has an
ongoing interest in the built environment, focussing on design computing, and
methods for generating spatial configurations.
Teaching
Theodore is currently module team chair of the T211 course: Design and Designing and leads the production of the new 2nd level design module planned to replace T211 in 2013. He is also a member of the award board of U101: Design Thinking.
Research Supervision
Theodore would be happy to hear from potential MPhil and PhD students interested to work in any of the research areas described above.
With Katerina Alexiou, Theodore is also leading the Design, Computing and Complexity strand of research in the Virtual MPhil programme led by the Computing Department. Visit the virtual mphil website for more details.
Contact Information
Email: t.zamenopoulos@open.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1908 655960
Fax: +44 (0)1908 654052
Room: N2015, Venables building
Selected Publications
Books
Alexiou, K., Johnson, J., and Zamenopoulos, T. editors (2009) Embracing Complexity in Design, Routledge.
Journal articles
Zamenopoulos, T. (2012) ‘A complexity theory of design Intentionality’, AIEDAM, 26(1): 63-83.
Gilbert, S.J., Zamenopoulos, T., Alexiou, K., Johnson, J.H. (2010). 'Involvement of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in ill-structured design cognition: An fMRI study', Brain Research, 1312: 79-88. [pdf]
Alexiou, K., Zamenopoulos, T., Johnson, J. and Gilbert, S. (2009) ‘Exploring the neurological basis of design cognition using brain imaging: some preliminary results’, Design Studies 30(6): 623-647. [pdf]
Alexiou, K. and Zamenopoulos, T. (2008) ‘Design as a social process: a complex systems perspective’, Futures, 40(6): 586-595. Special Issue on Design out of Complexity, Alexiou, K., Besussi, E. and Zamenopoulos, T. (eds). [pdf]
Zamenopoulos, T. and Alexiou, K. (2007) ‘Toward an anticipatory view of design’, Design Studies 28(4): 411-436. [pdf]
Zamenopoulos, T. and Alexiou, K. (2007) ‘Rethinking the cybernetic basis of design: the concepts of control and organisation’, in Kybernetes, 36(9/10): 1570-1589. Special Double Issue on Cybernetics and Design, Glanville, R. (ed). [pdf]
Alexiou, K. and Zamenopoulos, T. (2000) 'The morphogenesis of limits in the city', In Architects the official magazine of the Architects Association in Greece, 20 (March/April): 70-77. (in Greek)
Book Chapters
Zamenopoulos, T. (2009) 'The mathematical conditions of design ability', in Embracing Complexity in Design, Alexiou, K., Johnson, J., and Zamenopoulos, T. editors, Routledge, pp 95-119.
Alexiou, K., Johnson, J. and Zamenopoulos, T. (2010) ‘Embracing Complexity in Design: Emerging Perspectives and Opportunities’ in Designing for the 21st Century Volume 2: Research Methods & Findings, Inns, T. (ed), Gower Ashgate.
Johnson, J., Alexiou, K, Creigh-Tyte, A., Chase, S., Duffy, A., Eckert, C., Gascoigne, D., Kumar, B., Mitleton-Kelly, E., Petry, M., Qin, S-F, Robertson, A., Rzevski, G., Teymur, N., Thompson, A., Young, R., Willis, M., Zamenopoulos, T., (2007)‘Embracing complexity in design’, in Designing for the 21st Century: Questions and Insights, Innes, T. (ed), Gower Ashgate, UK, pp 129-149. ISBN-13 9780566087370
Zamenopoulos, T. and Alexiou, K. (2003) 'Structuring the plan design process as a coordination problem: the paradigm of distributed learning control coordination'. In Advanced Spatial Analysis: the CASA Book of GIS, P. Longley and M. Batty (eds), ESRI Press: US, pp 407-426.
Design Work Publications
Georgiadou, S., Dousi, M, Nomikos, M., Scarlatos, P., Tarani, V., Chatzopoulou, O., Zamenopoulos, T., Mikos, N., and Skourtis, A. (1994) ‘Study for the Restoration and Renewal of the Historic Settlement of Anavatos in Chios’. In the Exhibition Catalogue of Projects and Applications for the Conservation of Architectural Heritage, Technical Chamber of Greece, Department of Central Macedonia, pp 22-25. (in Greek)
Edited Proceedings and Journal Issues
Johnson, J. H., Zamenopoulos, T. and Alexiou, K. eds. (2005) Proceedings of the European Conference on Complex Systems (ECCS’05) Satellite Workshop: Embracing Complexity in Design, Open University: UK. [pdf]
Alexiou, K., Besussi, E. and Zamenopoulos, T. eds. (2008) Special Issue on Design out of Complexity Futures, 40(6).
Papers in Refereed Conference Proceedings
Alexiou, K. Zamenopoulos, T. and Gilbert, S. (2011) 'Imaging the designing brain: a neurocognitive exploration of design thinking'. In Design Computing and Cognition '10, Gero, John S ed. Springer, pp 489–504.
Johnson, J. H., Alexiou, K. and Zamenopoulos, T. (2006) ‘Embracing complexity in Design and Adaptive Computing’,In ACDM’06 Conference Proceedings, Parmee I. (ed).
Zamenopoulos, T. and Alexiou, K. (2005) ‘The Problem of Design in Complexity Research’, In ECCS’05 Conference Proceedings, Bourgine, P., Képès, F., Schoenauer, M. (eds), pp 137-138.
Zamenopoulos, T. and Alexiou, K. (2003) ‘Computer-aided creativity and learning in distributed cooperative human-machine networks’. In Digital Design: research and practice, Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on CAAD Futures 2003, Chiu, M-L., Tsou, J-Y., Kvan, T., Morozumi, M. and T. Jeng (eds), Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 191-201.
Alexiou, K. and Zamenopoulos, T. (2002) ‘A Control Based Approach to Artificial Design and Plan Generation’. In Proceedings of the Conference Common Ground, Design Research Society International Conference, D. Durling and J. Shackleton (eds), Staffordshide University Press: UK, pp 13.
Alexiou, K. and Zamenopoulos, T. (2002) ‘Artificial Design and Planning Support: Interactive Plan Generation and Coordination in Distributed Decision-Making’. In Design and Decision Support Systems in Urban Planning, Proceedings of the 6th International Conference, Eindhoven University of Technology: The Netherlands, pp 1-11.
PhD Thesis
Zamenopoulos, T. (2008) Design out of Complexity: a mathematical theory of design as universal property of organisation, PhD Thesis, University College London, University of London. [pdf]
Link to full list of publications
Research Projects
Media, Community and the Creative Citizen
‘Creative Citizens’ is a large £1.4m project funded by AHRC and EPSRC under the Connected Community and Digital Economy programmes. The project involves academics from University of West of England, Cardiff University, Royal College of Art, Birmingham University, and Birmingham City University as well as a number of public and third sector organisations. The aim of the research is to understand the changing landscape of digital and physical media and how they can be used to transform communities and support creative citizenship. The Open University team (Katerina Alexiou, Theodore Zamenopoulos and Giota Alevizou) focusses on ‘community-led design’, which will establish the value of creative citizens engaged in designing their own communities including public spaces, community facilities, housing or neighbourhood regeneration. [more information]
Valuing Community-Led Design
Valuing Community-Led Design is a research project that aims to collate, articulate and disseminate evidence about the value of community-led design and bring the relevant stakeholders together to share good practice and form a research agenda for the future. It is funded by AHRC under the Connected Communities programme. [more information]
ARCHI21
The project entitled ‘Architectural and design based education and practice through content & language integrated learning using immersive virtual environments for 21st century skills’ (or ARCHI21 for short) is funded by EU Lifelong Learning programme (Key Activity 2: Languages) for two years starting in November 2010. The project involves six EU partner universities and aims to explore the application of new technologies to language learning and teaching in design – particularly architecture education. Other co-investigators of the OU team are Steve Garner, Katerina Alexiou, Georgy Holden, and Nicole Schadewitz.[More information]
Pilot study on the neurological basis of design cognition
A study funded initially by the Embracing Complexity in Design project and carried out in collaboration with cognitive neuroscientists from UCL and Goldsmiths College. It is part of a larger research programme aimed at understanding the neurological basis of individual and social cognition, using advanced neuro-imaging techniques like fMRI and EEG. The project involves Katerina Alexiou, Theodore Zamenopoulos, Jeff Johnson, Sam Gilbert (UCL), Joydeep Bhattacharya (Goldsmiths College). See publications for more details.
Atelier-D
This JISC-funded project, value £180k, runs from November 2008 to October 2010. It will construct and trial a virtual atelier that combines well established practice in design education with new opportunities presented by ICT to create a powerful new approach to learning and teaching design based on communities of practice. It is founded on the delivery of three core OU design courses Design Thinking (Level 1), Design and Designing (Level 2) and Innovation (Level 3) and their integration in a design programme. The project involves Steve Garner, Georgy Holden, Peter Lloyd, Emma Dewberry, Nicole Schadewitz, Giselle Ferrieira and Theo Zamenopoulos.
See the Atelier-D project blog here.
Embracing Complexity in Design
Embracing Complexity in Design (ECiD) is a research project funded by EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) and AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) under the Designing for the 21st Century initiative. The project is funded for 18 months starting from October 2006 and continues the work of a research cluster with the same name funded in the previous year. The objective of ECiD is to understand the part played by complexity science in design, and increasingly the potential for design to play a major role in the emerging science of complex systems. [More information]
Open Network of Centres of Excellence in Complex Systems
The Open Network of Centres of Excellence in Complex Systems (ONCE-CS) is a project funded by the European Commission under FP6. The purpose of ONCE-CS is to strengthen European research in complex systems, and to assist people in business and public services to use the new science effectively. After ONCE-CS ends it will hand over to the Complex Systems Society to continue the work of servicing the complex systems community.
EPSRC Taught Course on Mathematics for the Science of Complex Systems
This is one of nine courses funded byEPSRC aimed at interested researchers that are new to complexity science and complex systems. The courses, running in 2006, are for new researchers and for those with more experience who want to find out more about the underlying concepts in this emerging research area.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2008. PhD in Architecture at the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), University College London, UK
1999. Diploma in Architectural Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Professional Qualifications
Registered as professional architect at the Technical Chamber of Greece since June 1999.
Employment
Dec 2004 – June 2009: Research Fellow, Department of Design and Innovation, The Open University. Working on various externally funded research projects.
Dec 2004 - Apr 2005, Research Assistant, Bartlett Graduate School of Architecture, UCL. EPSRC funded Carbon Reduction in Buildings (CaRB) Project.
1999- 2000, Athens. Architect.
1991-1999, Athens and Thessaloniki. Part-time Architectural Associate in various architectural offices.
Awards
1992 Thessaloniki. Second Prize in the competition for the Restoration and Recreation study of the historical settlement of Anavatos on the island Chios. As member of the architectural team of Prof. M. Nomikos and Partners.
1992 Thessaloniki. Award in the poster competition for the First Exhibition of Architectural Creation. The poster appeared at the Exhibition.
Page Last Updated: 7 February, 2013