Aaron Westre is a software developer, designer, and educator exploring the intersection of design, art and computation. He has over 15 years of experience developing software for the web, 3D applications and visual art. His recent work includes interactive web development for the Institute for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota, 3D projection software for the Minneapolis Art on Wheels collective, and custom software and web development for creative firms. In 2008, he received a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota School of Architecture, where his thesis involved developing software to generate 3D form based on emergent flocking behaviors. He is currently the principal of Artificial Natures, a software development consultancy he founded in 2009, which focuses on creating innovative computational design tools for architects, designers and artists.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, US, Virtual Reality Design Lab Research Fellow
Responsible for developing software and hardware solutions for the Virtual Reality Design Lab - a large-scale, immersive VR environment in the College of Design. The lab works with practitioners, faculty and students across the design disciplines to push the boundaries of visualization and creative applications of VR.
Artificial Natures, Principal
Artificial Natures is the design studio of Aaron Westre. Our products and services help designers communicate, collaborate and create in more empowered ways. We build a wide variety of custom software including 3D design applications, video game inspired visualizations, custom web applications, and much more.
University of Minnesota, Adjunct Instructor
Aaron teaches courses on computational design at the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota. Among his courses is Design Games, which teaches architecture students how to build their own design tools that incorporate aspects of video games.
University of Minnesota, MArch, Architecture
Aaron's thesis was entitled Complexity Machine 1 - a custom-built software application for exploring 3D forms created by behavioral simulation.
St. Cloud State University, Bachelors, Anthropology
Aaron studied archaeology, ethnography and studio arts (ceramics).
