Skylar Tibbits knows his way around the fourth dimension—time, that is. In 2013, Tibbits, the head of MIT's Self-Assembly Lab, coined the term "4D printing" to describe a key area of his research in programmable material technologies, wherein materials are imbued with characteristics that allow them to change shape over time. A trained architect, Tibbits has previously worked for Zaha Hadid Architects, Asymptote Architecture, and Point B Design. Today, he co-directs the Self-Assembly Lab, runs his own design and research firm, SJET, and is a research scientist in MIT's Department of Architecture, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate studios. We chatted with Tibbits about the future of the architecture and design profession, and how failure should be viewed as invaluable, and even welcomed, in the pursuit of innovation.