Professor Cristina Cerulli
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Professor of Architecture
Urban Living Research Group Lead
Office
GO3Building location
LO46Areas of interest
- Ethical practice in architecture and urban design
- Regenerative practices (all scales) within the expanded field of architecture
- Collective processes in the city in housing, heritage, public space
- Business models and funding strategies for community led development
- The role of architecture and architectural pedagogy in facilitating a transition towards a more equal society
Postgraduate supervision
Cristina is currently an external co-supervisor at Sheffield Hallam University for doctoral research on Power in Community Led Housing (Rowan McKay) and on How universities communicate their approach to sustainability trough construction sites (Lukeman Iddrisu).
She also overseen the successful completion of doctoral studies (as first or second supervisor) for projects on Urban Activation & Place making (Cataline Ionita, 2024, Sheffield Hallam University), Co-produced research on intercultural social dynamics of streets and public spaces in Page Hall (Goran Vodicka, 2018, University of Sheffield), Citizen-led urban development in vacant spaces in the city (Ivan Rabodzeenko, 2018, Habitat Unit, TU Berlin), Planning Strategies for Urban Agriculture Apartment Complexes in South Korea (Junghyun, Park, 2017, University of Sheffield), Spatial affordance for young children's social interaction in nursery environment (Huang, Junjie, 2017, University of Sheffield), Designing with children: An exploration into the common language co-created by children and designers and its implications for the spatial design process (Šorn, Maša, 2017, University of Sheffield), Initiating Architecture: Agency, Knowledge and Values in Instigating Spatial Change (Anna Wakeford Holder (nee Holder), 2014, University of Sheffield), Social sustainability and public life in Iranian Squares: the case of Naghshe Jahan Square (.Noushin Zand Vosoughi, 2014, University of Sheffield)
Teaching
Convenorship:
AAMAD1 – Architectural Design 1 (MArch)
AAMSPR Architectural Skills for Professional Resilience (MArch)
AAMRM: Research Methods: Dissertation (MArch)
Contributing to:
AAMAD2 Architectural Design 2
AAMAD3 Architectural Design 3 - Thesis Design
Research centres and groups
Research projects
- The High Street as Community Infrastructure
- Caring—with Cities Caring—with Cities (caringwith.city)
- Affordable and regenerative housing and workspace with the Sheffield Community Land Trust https://sheffieldclt.uk/
- The Regenerative Campus
- Regenerative climate-resilient interventions with vulnerable communities
Background
Cristina’s work focuses on supporting collective endeavours in the city and countering inequality through practices of care, actively proposing and implementing alternatives.
She qualified as an architect in Florence, Italy. After an MSc in Computer Aided Building Design in (Strathclyde) and a PhD in Architecture (Sheffield), she has been working across practice and academia.
Cristina has obtained research funding from RCUK (EPSRC, AHRC), the British Academy, the EU and the UK Department of Health. She has published and presented her work in academic journals, parliamentary launches, public events, and exhibitions. Cristina is a co-recipient of a RIBA President’s Award for Outstanding Practice-located Research (2012) and was a member of the RIBA Commission for Ethics and Sustainable Development (2018). With Studio Polpo, the research-led social enterprise architecture practice that she co-founded, she contributed to the British Pavilion for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021 with the installation ‘High Street of Exchanges’ about the British High Street.
Academic qualifications
- Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (CiLT) 2008 (University of Sheffield)
- PhD in Architecture 2004 (University of Sheffield, Architecture)
- Esame di Stato per Architetti, [Italian Architect’s Licence, equivalent to RIBA Part III] 1999 (Universita’ degli Studi di Firenze, Italy)
- Laurea in Architettura 1998 (equivalent to BSc Architecture+ MArch) (Universita’ degli Studi di Firenze, Italy)
- MSc in Computer Aided Building Design 1997 (University of Strathclyde, Architecture and Building Aids Computer Unit (ABACUS)
Professional bodies/affiliations
- Member of the ESRC Peer Review College
- Member of research review panels (expert reviewer) for EU funded Driving Urban Transitions Partnerships (DUT) Programme
- Member of research review panels for FORMAS Panel of the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development,
- Senior Fellow f the Higher Education Academy
- Fellow of Royal Society for the Arts
- Member of Ordine degli Architetti, Pianificatori, Peasaggisti e Conservatori di Grosseto [Italian Body of Architects, Urban Designers, Landscape Architects and Conservation Architects] –
- Founding Director at social enterprise practice Studio Polpo
- Board member of Sheffield Community Land Trust
- Senior Advisor on Public Space for City Space Architecture http://www.cityspacearchitecture.org/