Bio

tl;dr - Architect turned XR-chitect. Also... live events. Designer, developer, and educator, Alex Coulombe is the CEO of Heavenue, a new high-fidelity cloud platform to connect performers with audiences across the metaverse. He also runs Agile Lens: Immersive Design, the award winning XR creative studio. Alex has always had a passion for purposing emerging technology for creative visions. In 2010 he graduated from Syracuse University with a B. Arch (and Drama minor!) and after working for several architecture firms, when the Oculus DK1 hit the market, immersive tech became his focus. In 2013 while at the theatre planning consultancy Fisher Dachs Associates, he pioneered the world's first use of VR for accurately testing sightlines and adjusting room design based on the results. Other early immersive creations include an equipment clearance checker for Hudson Yards' The Shed, a projection mapping tool for Bravo Media and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and design mockups for the Park Avenue Armory's production of Kenneth Branagh's Macbeth. His work in highly-custom solutions grew and culminated in the formation of Agile Lens. Recent architecture projects include David Geffen Hall, Brockman Hall for Opera, the Statue of Liberty Museum, and the Yale Schwarzman Center. Recent theatre collaborations include the award-winning ghost speed-dating experience Ghosted AR, the Venice Film Festival live VR performance, Loveseat, and the ongoing OnBoard XR One Act Festival. By early 2021, Alex began to focus in earnest building a platform to serve the needs of performing artists in virtual space, and Heavenue was born. The first use of Heavenue was a collaboration with Actors Theatre of Louisville on Scrooge's Ghost Encounter. The show included actor Ari Tarr performing live in performance capture equipment for audiences around the world engaged in a shared Unreal Engine scene through Meta Quest VR headsets. A rising thought leader, Alex and his work features in conferences around the world. He taught VR performance at NYU Tisch, Unity3D at the Syracuse University School of Architecture, and currently teaches Unreal Engine as an authorized partner of Epic Games. Alex has helped organize such events as the RealTime Conference, TCG National Conference, and the new 5th Wall Forum. Twitter & YouTube @iBrews.