Romanis - Michelle

At Cambridge (2000‑2002), Romanis completed an MPhil in Architecture and Landscape, focusing on Her dissertation, titled “From Decline to Resilience: The Role of Community Memory in Re‑appropriating Industrial Sites,” was later published in the Journal of Urban Regeneration and remains a frequently cited source in contemporary debates about heritage‑driven sustainability. 2. The Professional Trajectory: From Researcher to Practice Leader 2.1 Early Career – The Research Lab After returning to the United States, Romanis joined the MIT Media Lab’s City Science Initiative (2003‑2008) as a research associate. Here, she collaborated with William J. Mitchell and the late Catherine L. Ross , developing data‑driven models that linked micro‑climatic patterns to street‑level pedestrian comfort. Her work on the “Urban Heat Island (UHI) Mitigation Index” was adopted by several municipal planning departments, including the City of Boston, as a decision‑support tool for green infrastructure investments. 2.2 Practice Launch – Atelier Romanis In 2009, armed with a growing portfolio of research‑backed projects, Romanis founded Atelier Romanis , a boutique design studio based in Brooklyn, NY. The firm’s charter was simple yet ambitious: “Design with the planet, for the people, and through the people.” Early commissions included:

These projects earned the firm multiple accolades, including the and the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Future Project Award (2015) . 2.3 Global Expansion – The Southeast Asian Pivot A turning point came in 2016 when the Singapore Ministry of National Development invited Romanis to lead a consultancy for the “Smart Green Districts” program. Her team’s proposal—a modular, prefabricated housing system that combined passive cooling strategies with locally sourced bamboo panels—was selected for pilot implementation in Johor Bahru, Malaysia . The pilot, known as “Bamboo‑Box Housing,” achieved a 40 % reduction in operational energy compared to conventional low‑rise apartments and received the World Sustainable Building Council’s (World SBC) Innovation Award (2018) . michelle romanis

| Year | Project | Location | Core Innovation | |------|---------|----------|-----------------| | 2010 | | Albany, NY | Integrated floating wetlands to treat stormwater runoff. | | 2012 | Community Learning Hub | Detroit, MI | Adaptive reuse of a 1920s textile mill into a mixed‑use education center. | | 2014 | Solar‑Powered Co‑Working Space | Portland, OR | Net‑zero energy building using BIPV (Building‑Integrated Photovoltaics). | At Cambridge (2000‑2002), Romanis completed an MPhil in

Romanis earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Cornell University in 1999, where she was introduced to the concept of “ecological urbanism” through the work of architect‑theorist Peter Calthorpe . A pivotal moment came during a senior‑year studio project that re‑imagined the abandoned Ithaca Commons as a “green corridor” linking the downtown core to the surrounding farmland. The project won the university’s Sustainable Design Competition and caught the eye of a visiting professor from the University of Cambridge , who later invited her to pursue a Master’s degree abroad. Here, she collaborated with William J

She also founded —an annual program that funds emerging designers from under‑represented backgrounds to undertake a six‑month field research project in a low‑income community. To date, the fellowship has supported 34 fellows from 18 countries, producing over 120 research briefs and 15 built prototypes . 5. Impact Assessment: Numbers, Narratives, and Net‑Positive Change | Metric | Result (as of 2025) | |--------|--------------------| | CO₂e reduction (operational) | 4.2 million tons avoided across all built projects | | People reached (directly) | 1.3 million residents in 23 countries | | Local jobs created | 8,700 (construction, maintenance, and community services) | | Awards & Honors | 12 international design awards, 3 honorary doctorates | | Publications cited | >2,300 citations across scholarly literature | | Policy influence | Integrated into 4 national climate‑adaptation frameworks (Singapore, Philippines, Kenya, Brazil) |