Alex Cabral

Alex Cabral

Director of Fabrication Labs
Architecture, CoA+A

Alex Cabral serves as the Director of Fabrication for the School of Architecture at UNC Charlotte, overseeing five distinct laboratory spaces in two campus locations. 

Prior to arriving at UNC Charlotte, Alex led the Fabrication Lab at Wentworth Institute of Technology (Boston, MA).  Under his leadership, from 2011 to early 2015, Alex doubled the size of the lab, opened facilities to every student from sophomore year into the graduate school, and implemented and trained on cutting-edge technology.  He was also responsible for teaching in the areas of digital fabrication and furniture-making.

He has held multiple positions of consultant and contributor at Bruce Miller Architecture (Boston, MA), Bruce Miller Design + Interiors (Boston, MA), TAT (The Architecture Team, Boston, MA), Studio FKIA (Boston, MA), Studio to Sustain (New Bedford, MA). 

Alex holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA.

In addition to his professional contributions, Alex has collaborated with professionals in the architecture, arts, education, and engineering community as part of Artforming, a Boston-based group.  His projects include multiple public art installations with the goal of fostering public dialogue and individual contemplation in the arts and architecture community along with the general public.

EXPLORE HIS RECENT WORK

An interdisciplinary team from the College of Arts + Architecture has published an article in the journal Technology|Architecture + Design (TAD) on COVID-Era Design leadership: DIY in Pandemic Times: Design Leadership During COVID-19“. The article relates their collaborative design process as they used 3D printers to mass produce protective face shields for medical workers in the spring of 2020.

The installation “High Beams” By Matthew Steele with fabricational support by Alex Cabral and the FabLab is a temporary public art project commissioned by Charlotte Center City Partners for the Charlotte Rail Trail Lights, an outdoor, light-based exhibition. It was placed on the Rail Trail near Atherton Mill in Charlotte, North Carolina; an area with high pedestrian traffic.   The concept for this piece started with the location in which it would be living. People would be passing by it, not necessarily expecting to be exposed to art, but regardless, being confronted by it. 
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