Sandy Attia
Visiting Lecturer
Master of Architecture, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Virginia, School of Architecture
www.modusarchitects.com
Sandy Attia is the cofounding partner of MoDusArchitects. The Italy based practice is distinguished by a heterogeneous approach to the field of architecture that combines the founding partners’ two different cultural and formative backgrounds into one platform for bold architectural design and research. MoDusArchitects was awarded the 2013 Italian Architect of the Year, special jury prize in recognition of their “extraordinary capacity to respond to specific and variegated topics with dexterous spatial and formal solutions that are able to generate new figures in stratified territories and to produce unexpected reflections on their histories.” Other awards include the first prize of the Oderzo Awards (2014) and the international Piranesi Award (2013). The recently completed Psychiatric Center in Bolzano, Italy was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe prize in 2015 and received the first prize Plan Awards for health projects. The Cogeneration Plant and Rooftop Skatepark is the groundbreaking project that drew attention to MoDusArchitects’ capacity to transform challenging contexts into vibrant social spaces in the bringing together of two seemingly incompatible programs. The Kostner house and studio, another hybrid project, has been published across the globe, garnering interest for its innovative vocabulary grounded in a deeply rooted historical context, and for its capacity to strike up new conversations in the realm of artistic production. Infrastructural/requalification projects that address larger scale issues such as the Ring road, the mountain refuge, and the Cosenza masterplan underline an interest in bridging the fields of architecture and landscape. Of the numerous educational projects completed to date, many have received awards both in Italy and abroad, placing MoDusArchitects at the center of the current debate on the government’s school buildings program underway in Italy. The first book on the work of MoDusArchitects, Three of a Kind, was published by the Architecture Observer Press in 2014.
Sandy Attia received the Muschenheim teaching and research fellowship at the University of Michigan where she continued her academic pursuits for a number of years, and has recently stepped back into academia by joining the faculty at Trento University’s Department of Architecture to teach the first year design studio while she continues her work as a contributing editor to the South Tyrolean architectural magazine Turrisbabel, concentrating largely on contemporary architectural issues and topics within the region. In 2013, she was nominated for the ArcVision prize, along with 25 other women from across the world for her contribution to the field of architecture. Her latest, co-authored book Designing Schools (Progettare Scuole) was shortlisted for the 2015 National Research Award in the field of architecture and her cross-disciplinary work in creative and educational environments continues with her involvement with the Agnelli Foundation in Turin, Italy. With partner Matteo Scagnol, Sandy Attia is currently teaching a Design Studio at Princeton University’s School of Architecture.
