Sidney architect scoops student award

The CSAR PhD Student Awards of £1,000 each are intended to recognise outstanding research with real world application and to assist students to pursue their research or careers.

Ana is a PhD candidate, supervised by Sidney Fellow Professor Michael Ramage, at the Centre for Natural Material Innovation (CNMI) in the Department of Architecture, where she is a Cambridge Trust Scholar and an Open-Oxford-Cambridge Doctoral Training Partnership scholar. Ana holds a BA in Engineering and a MA in Architecture. She previously worked as a researcher at the CNMI for three years developing structural bamboo products as well as better housing with natural materials in informal settlements.

Ana is a partner at Light Earth Designs, a practice focused on environmentally sensitive architecture and innovative engineering which has received several international architectural awards. She is also a Board Advisor for Prospectives Journal, and a Committee Advisor for REDER Journal. She worked for several years with international non-governmental organisations on emergency architecture, disaster response and development with the use of natural materials and sustainable technologies in various countries.

Speaking about her current research, Ana said: “My research develops flexible interiors with engineered timber and digital tools for affordable housing, creating a sustainable and adaptable living that cares for the planet and the people.

“Engineered timber acts as a carbon sink. Flexibility of interior spaces has become crucial with social, economic, and environmental benefits. With mass customization, the growth of digital factories and open-source designs, interior walls can become affordable, sustainable and creative.

“For the pavilion at the London Design Biennale which I led, I collaborated with PLP Architecture and colleagues at Cambridge. Through my Design Exchange Partnership recently received from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, I will continue to collaborate with PLP Architecture and colleagues to exhibit my findings this summer at the Design Museum in London.”

Ana was presented with her CSAR PhD student awarded by Professor Andy Neely OBE, Sidney Fellow and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations, at a ceremony held earlier this month in the Old Schools.

Professor Andy Neely OBE presenting Ana Gatóo with a CSAR PhD Student Award | Image credit: Centre for Natural Material Innovation