Patricia Guaita is an architect, researcher, and educator with expertise in drawing as an action and social and sustainable research projects. Her work focus on design methodologies, which incorporate drawing by hand, 1:1 fabrication, spatial and tectonic analysis, and the development of construction protocols. Working with experimental construction sites, she creates interdisciplinary platforms that bring together educators, scientists, practitioners, and students, integrating research, teaching, and construction to foster sustainability and innovation in real-world practices and education.

She facilitates knowledge transfer, particularly within Latin America and the Global South, where she actively seeks to bridge gaps between academia and practice across diverse cultural contexts. With her research she explores also innovative educational formats through immersive fieldwork and interdisciplinary practices. She also manages strategic projects within EPFL and various international institutions, including NGOs and industrial partners. Her contributions extend beyond the academia, searching for a tangible impact in real-world settings and driving sustainable change on a global scale.

She studied at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (ETSAM) and the Istituto di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV). She successfully defended her doctoral thesis, "Action and Experience in Architecture: Materiality and Embodiment in the Education of the Technological Era", at C.E.U. University in Madrid. 

Currently, she is a lecturer and researcher at the école Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where she serves as Head of Techne within the ALICE laboratory. She has initiated several research and teaching projects that explore a pedagogy of making, rigorously tested and refined through multiple experimental project collaborations. These include the Open City Research Platform (2013&2019), in collaboration with ENAC EPFL and EAD PUCV in Valparaiso, at the Open City, Chile; the interdisciplinary research project "Social Concrete: Towards a New Paradigm of Construction" (ALICE, IBETON and LMC labs) with the construction of the TRC Prototype Pavilion at the EPFL Fribourg (since 2019) with collaborations with NGOs and in partnership with FAUFBA in Salvador de Bahia. Most recently, she initiated the "Drawing Research Platform" (since 2023) in Somerset and London, UK , in collaboration with Drawing Matter org. From 2020 to 2022, she was an Invited Professor at JMA HEIA Fribourg, where she co-led the master's design studio "Construction Cycles: Analysis - Reiteration - Innovation" with architect Raffael Baur. 

Patricia Guaita has made significant contributions to the fields of architecture and education through various publications, including "Building Cultures Valparaíso: Pedagogy, Practice and Poetry at the Valparaíso School of Architecture and Design" (Routledge, 2015); "Notes on Learning Through Building in the Open City: Body, Craft, and Materiality" in Building for Architecture Education, Lucerne Talks (2021); "A Prototype Pavilion in Textile Reinforced Concrete: A Tool for Research and Pedagogy", a review article for the International fib Symposium, Conceptual Design of Structures (2021); "Construction Cycles: Towards a New Ecology of Construction", a book chapter for the Trienal de Arquitectura de Lisboa (2022); and "El Pórtico de los Huéspedes: Exploring Other Ways of Building at the Open City in Valparaíso, Chile", in The Routledge Companion to Architectural Pedagogies of the Global South (2022). Lately, her research was selected for exhibition at the 14th International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo (2025), where she contributed to advancing the structural, architectural, environmental, and social exploration of TRC-LC3 and its potential applications in the Global South.

She actively participates in critiques, discussions, and conferences on a global scale. Based in Lausanne, she also maintains her own professional practice with upcoming projects and collaborations.

In these recent years, my research has been twofold: advancing sustainable construction solutions, (particularly Textile Reinforced Concrete), and exploring embodied cognition in architectural teaching and learning.

The first research line explores innovative construction techniques by examining social, spatial, and constructive practices. This interdisciplinary initiative integrates academia, research, and practical application in architecture and construction, aiming to address global demands for secure, resilient, and sustainable constructions. 
 Activities include research on sustainable concrete construction systems designing and testing 1:1 TRC prototypes, and engagement with various research funds programs such as EPFL Seed Money and ENAC Exploratory Grant. Knowledge exchange initiatives involve partnerships with the University of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, Swissnex Brazil and the ONG

Sofonias Group. 

The second area of research focuses on the exploration of a pedagogy of making, investigating the creative processes and design actions involved in the conception and construction of space. Thanks to the creation and

direction of the Open City Research Platform, this educational approach has been rigorously tested and refined through experimental new projects and collaborations with a multiplicity of experts and students. It aims to question the value of embodied knowledge, tacit learning, and the impact of hands-on activities on learning and environmental interaction.

Consolidation Grant 2022, Universität St.Gallen (HSG) Centro Latinoamericano-Suizo, (CLS-HSG), Leading House for the Latin American Region.

Swiss PI

Dr. Patricia Guaita, architect and lecturer, ENAC IA ALICE, EPFL, Switzerland

Latin American PI: Dr. Sergio Ekerman, architect and Professor, FAUFBA, Brazil

Seed Money Grant 2020, Universität St.Gallen (HSG) Centro Latinoamericano-Suizo (CLS-HSG), Leading House for the Latin American Region.

Co-PI applicants

Miguel Fernández Ruiz, Senior Scientist, ENAC IIC IBETON

Patricia Guaita, scientist and lecturer, ENAC IA ALICE

Prof. Sergio Kopinski Ekerman, FAUFBA Salvador de Bahia