Contact
Biography
I am an architect qualified in Chile, with experience in practice, teaching and research. I hold a PhD in Architectural Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) and completed a post-doctoral research residency at the UCL Urban Laboratory, which finalised with a solo exhibition at the Bartlett School of Architecture in October 2019.
Currently, I am a Senior Research Fellow at the Architecture Culture and Tectonics Research Group, University of Nottingham. I joined this institution in 2023. My research focuses on experiences of absence in the built environment (such as overlooked spaces, fragments and traces of disappeared structures) to develop alternative understandings and representations of urban change, and to inform design thinking. Socially and culturally, absence addresses forms of use, memory and meanings that are alternative or marginal to, or have been obliterated by the dominating narratives that shape present architectures, cities and landscapes. Related areas of interest and expertise are the perception and memory of places, cultural and natural heritage, environmental humanities, and advanced recording technologies. I have disseminated and discussed my research in several conferences, publications, exhibitions, and through invited talks. Featured publications: "Archive and Site: the ghost of Peter Eisenman's Cannaregio Ovest project (1978) in Venice" (ARENA Journal of Architectural Research, 2024); "Advanced documentation technologies for people-centred preparedness and re-construction in Bela, India" (with B. Devilat, M. Mane y Z. Pithawalla, Disaster Prevention and Management, 2024); "The Layered Absences of the Heygate Estate, South London (1974-2014)" (Architectural Research Quarterly 2020); "Drawing from the Context: scanning, designing, building" (with B. Devilat, a chapter in the book The Artful Plan, edited by Birkhäuser, 2020).
My teaching experience, mostly developed in Chile and the UK, spans 20 years and covers the design of the built environment at different scales (interiors, architecture, urban and landscape design) and relates design studio, research and humanities. I currently teach at the School of Architecture and Landscape, University of Sheffield. I also contribute as a peer reviewer for The Journal of Architecture, Revista de Arquitectura (University of Chile) and the Urban Transcripts Journal (online). I am co-founder of DLA Scan / Devilat Lanuza Architectural Studio, and a member of Urban Transcripts and the Association of Critical Heritage Studies.
Teaching Summary
01/09/2022 - present The University of Sheffield
School of Architecture
Studio Tutor in Architecture / Studio Lead and Thesis Tutor; Module Leader for "Reflections in Architectural Design" at the MA in Architectural Design (MAAD), plus other contributions to the Sheffield School of Architecture (09/2022 - present)
Visiting Tutor Architectural Design Thesis / MAAD (02/2022 - 08/2022)
17/08/2020 - 22/12/2020 Universidad de Puerto Rico (Recinto de Rio Piedras)
School of Architecture
Research Seminar Tutor [online] / MArch Dissertation
26/09/2019 - 31/01/2020 University of Greenwich School of Design
Tutor Architectural History and Theory Thesis / BA Architecture
11/09/2017 - 31/08/2018 Kingston University London
Department of Architecture and Landscape
Design Studio Tutor / BA Architecture
Design Studio Tutor / MA Landscape Architecture, MA Landscape and Urbanism, and Postgraduate Diploma Landscape Architecture
19/09/2016 - 13/01/2017 University of Hertfordshire
School of Creative Arts
Design Studio Tutor / BA Interior Architecture and Design
07/09/2015 - 21/07/2017 Writtle University College
Writtle School of Design
Tutor for Design Research, Design Communication, Design Lab and Design Thesis / Interior Architecture and Design (Module Leader for Design Research and Design Thesis 2016-2017)
28/09/2015 - 10/07/2016 University College London
The Bartlett School of Architecture
Design Studio Teaching Assistant / BA Architecture
16/03/2009 - 29/07/2011 Universidad de Talca (Chile)
School of Architecture
Visiting Lecturer Architectural History and Theory / BA Architecture (Module Leader)
03/03/2008 - 30/06/2010 Universidad Católica de Chile
Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies
Research Studio Tutor / BA Architecture (08/2009 - 06/2010)
Architectural History Tutor / BA Architecture (03/2009 - 12/2009
Architectural History Teaching Assistant / BA Architecture (03/2008 - 12/2008)
01/03/2004 - 31/12/2005 Universidad de las Américas (UDLA)
School of Architecture and Design
Lecturer in Architectural History and Theory / BA Architecture
12/03/2001 - 31/07/2011 Universidad de Chile
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism
Design Studio Teaching / BA Architecture (08/2008 - 07/2011)
Design Studio Teaching / BA Architecture (04/2004 - 12/2005)
Architectural Theory Teaching Assistant / BA Architecture (06/2002 - 12/2002, as a volunteer while completing studies)
Design Studio Teaching Assistant / BA Architecture (03/2001 - 06/2003, as a volunteer while completing studies)
Workshops
14/11/2016 - 20/11/2016 Architectural/Urban Design tutor (in Urban Transcripts team), ECOWEEK workshop 'Place making in one planet' (includes preparation time in the previous months), held in Thessaloniki, Greece.
29/08/2016 - 04/09/2016 Urban Design tutor, Urban Transcripts workshop 'Chania - on the Sea Edge' (includes preparation time in the previous months), held in Chania, Greece.
03/10/2014 - 10/10/2014 Urban Studies tutor, Urban Transcripts workshop 'Berlin Un-limited' (includes preparation time in the previous months), held in Berlin, Germany.
03/12/2012 - 09/12/2012 Urban Studies/Design tutor, Urban Transcripts workshop 'London, the (n)ever-changing city' (includes preparation time in the previous months), held in London, UK.
03/09/2009 - 11/09/2009 Architectural/Urban Design teaching assistant, workshop "Bordeaux - Rosario - Santiago", held in Santiago, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Universidad de Chile.
05/09/2008 - 12/09/2008 Architectural/Urban Design teaching assistant, workshop "Bordeaux - Rosario - Santiago", held in Rosario, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (Argentina).
Invited Critic
2024 Interim Studio Reviews, BArch, Manchester School of Architecture
2023 Interim Studio Reviews, BArch, Manchester School of Architecture
2022 Studio Reviews, MArch in Conservation & Regeneration, CHC CEPT University (India)
2021 Interim Studio Review, Design Projects, MAAD, The University of Sheffield
2021 Dissertation Project, Masters in Architecture, University of Puerto Rico [online]
2020 Final Studio Reviews, BA Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) [online]
2018 Mediated Environments, MA Situated Practice, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
2018 Design Studio, BA Architecture, University of Greenwich
2013, 2015, 2016 Design Studio, BA Interior Architecture, University of Westminster
2015 BA Interior Architecture and Design, Writtle College, University of Essex
2012 Cross-crits, BArch, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
2009 Graphic and Industrial Design, Pontificia Universidad Bolivariana de Medellín (COL)
2008 Design Studio, BA Architecture, Catholic University of Chile (CHI)
External Examiner
2018 - 2022 BA Interior Architecture, University of East London
Research Summary
The University of Nottingham | Architecture, Culture and Tectonics Research Group
Co-Investigator at the project "Applicability and scalability of a sustainable re-construction framework for seismic-prone heritage areas of Gujarat, India" aka. "3D for Heritage India" (Phase 3). Funding: AHRC / DCMS https://3d4heritageindia.com (06/2023 - 03/2024).
Research Fellow at the project: "Documenting the Churches of Chiloé: recording as a knowledge transfer for conservation". Funding: EWAP / Oxford Brookes University (06/2023 - 11/2024).
Recent Publications
Past Research
Nottingham Trent University | Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Global Heritage | 11/2020 - 7/2023
Co-Investigator at the project "Applicability and scalability of a sustainable re-construction framework for seismic-prone heritage areas of Gujarat, India" aka. "3D for Heritage India" (Phase 3). Funding: AHRC / DCMS https://3d4heritageindia.com (02/2023 - 05/2023).
Research Fellow at the project: "Documenting the Churches of Chiloé: recording as a knowledge transfer for conservation". Funding: EWAP / Oxford Brookes University (10/2022 - 05/2023).
Principal Investigator at the project: "Landscapes of the Absent City: environmental heritage for a sustainable future". Funding: Nottingham Trent University, Sustainable Futures Research Talent Fund (08/2022 - 07/2023).
Research Fellow at the project: "A sustainable re-construction method for seismic-prone heritage areas of India based on advanced recording technologies" aka. "3D for Heritage India" (Phases 1 & 2). Funding: AHRC / DCMS. https://3d4heritageindia.com (11/2020 - 07/2022).
University of Reading | School of Architecture | 11/2021 - 06/2022
Research Associate at the project: "Zero City Plus: an urban game", in association with Urban Transcripts. Funding: AHRC Design Exchange Partnerships. Summary: this project envisions a participatory urban planning and design service in the form of a game, which through a digital platform will engage with people to better understand and inform behavioural changes towards net zero+ practices in collaborative public decision making and every-day life, achieving SDGs at the scale of neighbourhoods and communities.
University College London | Urban Laboratory and the Bartlett School of Architecture | 10/2017 - 10/2019
Postdoctoral Researcher at the project "Documents of change: experiences of absence in Burgess Park and the Aylesbury Estate", self-led project based on PhD thesis, including historical, empirical and representational methods.
Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) | 06/2014 - 07/2014
Research Residency Doctoral Students Programme; lectures, seminars and archival research project "The opposites of absence: methods and operations in the work of Peter Eisenman and Gordon Matta-Clark"
Universidad Católica de Chile | Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies | 01/2009 - 03/2011
Research Assistant / Research Coordinator at the urban history research project "Santiago 1910: planimetrical reconstruction of the pre-modern city". Project coordinator from 08/2009 to 04/2010; in charge of the planimetrical reconstruction of the railway system and supporting the theoretical and methodological dimension of the research.
* Parental leave between postdoctoral residency at UCL in 2019 and Research Fellow role at NTU in 2020
Future Research
My future research will explore the potential agency of disused urban spaces reclaimed by nature in fostering attitudinal and behavioral change towards environmental care in local communities, and the role architectural and landscape design as mediators between these sites and visitors to enhance such agency.