Research Portrait: Bharath Seshadri
Dr. Seshadri Bharath is a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich, working under Prof. Bernd Bickel. His research focuses on integrating spatial computing and AI-powered tools to revolutionize sustainable building operations and occupant engagement.
Can you describe your current research project for a general audience and share what inspired your work?
I am part of the project “Extended Reality for Inspection, Assembly, Operations to support net-zero carbon infrastructure”, funded by the external page Albert Lück-Stiftung, led by Dr. Danielle Griego, Prof. Robert Flatt, Prof. Catherine De Wolf and Prof. Bernd Bickel. Together my colleagues Dr. Eleftherios Triantafyllidis and Stefan Zimmerman, we form the XR-Team.
My specific project explores how building operations affect energy performance and occupant comfort. Using visual computing and extended reality (xR), my research helps users “see” invisible energy flows and better understand how buildings function. Key contributions include user-friendly modeling and analysis with consumer XR tools, along with intuitive design guides powered by large language models (LLMs).
The inspiration comes from the urgent need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions of which the built environment is a major contributor. By merging computational and architectural approaches, I aim to develop tools for domain experts to conduct fast and accurate building energy audits and recommend retrofit measures.
What are the potential real-world applications of your research within the AEC industry? How might it positively impact our built environment and everyday life?
I aim to make design and retrofitting scalable, accessible, and cost-effective for broader adoption of sustainable practices.
On a larger scale, these tools could accelerate the shift to carbon-neutral buildings, helping governments and businesses meet climate goals. They also have the potential to improve overall quality of life by making homes more comfortable and energy-efficient. By integrating spatial computing and LLM-powered design tools into retrofitting workflows, the process can become more user-friendly, encouraging active participation from occupants.
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The Immersive Design Lab represented as a 3D point cloud. Bharath Seshadri, ETH Zurich. -
Thermal radiation data of an occupant represented as a 3D point cloud. Bharath Seshadri, ETH Zurich.
Could you share a surprising or unexpected finding or outcome from your research so far?
Although my research is still in its early stages, I have been surprised by how computer graphics and visual computing techniques could apply to architecture. These fields, traditionally linked to rendering and visual effects, are now expanding—thanks to AI-driven advancements and faster hardware—to offer new methods for building physics applications. This interdisciplinary perspective comes from my exposure to computer graphics research within my group, the Chair of Computational Design, led by my supervisor, Prof. Bernd Bickel.
What does augmented computational design mean to you, and how do you see it evolving in your field?
To me, augmented computational design is the next frontier of technologies that push the performance boundaries in AEC practice. Having started my career as an energy engineer in the AEC industry, I experienced first-hand how computational tools are instrumental in designing sustainable and comfortable buildings. The shift to augmented computational design uses advancements in spatial computing and extended reality (XR) devices, allowing users to visualize, interact with, and manipulate complex architectural data in new ways.
By integrating real-world spatial data with simulations, designers and users can see invisible or occluded data, such as airflow patterns, temperature gradients, or structural stresses, in an intuitive and immersive manner. These tools not only make complex datasets accessible to non-experts but also provide actionable insights for optimizing building performance. In the future, I envision augmented computational design becoming integral to the design process, for example –users could interact with real-time simulations, test various scenarios before physical implementation, and make informed decisions about sustainability and comfort.