Martina Palocci

Martina Palocci

Asst Professor (F2)

DAA Addition

DAAP School of Arch & Interior Design - 0016

513-556-6426Email

Professional Summary

Martina Palocci is an Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) at the University of Cincinnati's College of DAAP, School of Architecture and Interior Design, where she has taught since 2022. Her work bridges rigorous European professional practice and American academic life, with nine years of experience at Herzog & de Meuron in Basel, followed by positions at Studio Banana and the co-founding of Studio Tropicana, an independent transdisciplinary architecture collective.
Her research investigates interiors as cultural and civic infrastructures, examining how thresholds, atmospheres, and material strategies shape collective experience. This inquiry advances through built work, design installations, editorial writing, and exhibitions - including invited presentations at ALCOVA/Salone del Mobile (2024, 2026) and a feature in Wallpaper* Architects' Directory (2023).
In her teaching, Palocci integrates spatial reasoning, section-based design strategies, and analog-digital workflows across design studios, visualization courses, and graduate seminars. She is the originator of the JANUS methodological framework, developed through practice and applied in international academic contexts including SUPSI (Switzerland). Her editorial platform Lettere dal Tropico positions writing as an operative research tool within contemporary architectural discourse.

Education

MSc Architecture: Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) / Accademia di Architettura Mendrisio Mendrisio, Switzerland, 2010 (Architecture)

Laurea in Arredamento e Architettura degli Interni (Honors): Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy, 2006 (Interior Architecture)

Erasmus Exchange: Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa) Lisbon, Portugal, 2006 (Architecture)

Research and Practice Interests

Martina Palocci's research investigates interiors as cultural and civic infrastructures, examining how thresholds, atmospheres, and material strategies shape collective experience. Working across built projects, design installations, editorial writing, and visual investigations, she uses design as a form of inquiry that links conceptual reflection with material production. Her practice-based research advances through design-led, critical, and applied methods bridging analytical thinking with craft, representation, and the spatial realities of interior environments. Current research develops around the relationship between interior space, soft power, and civic identity, with parallel trajectories in architectural pedagogy — particularly the JANUS methodological framework — and editorial research through the platform Lettere dal Tropico.

Positions and Work Experience

2023 -To Present Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Designs and leads design studios, graduate visualization courses, and advanced seminars at the University of Cincinnati's College of DAAP. Coordinates multi-section courses with unified methodologies and shared evaluation frameworks. Mentors Graduate Assistants and serves on graduate admissions committees. Funded researcher investigating the spatial and political dimensions of interior environments., University of Cincinnati, DAAP – School of Architecture and Interior Design, Cincinnati, OH

2023 -To Present Co-Founder - Studio Tropicana, Co-founded an independent transdisciplinary architecture collective with an international exhibition presence at ALCOVA/Salone del Mobile (2024, 2026) and a feature in Wallpaper* Architects' Directory. Built work across Italy, Germany, and Switzerland spanning hospitality, residential, and installation design., Studio Tropicana, Varese, Italy

2022 -2023 Adjunct Instructor - visiting, Developed and taught studio, theory, and representation courses in interior architecture and spatial design, leading to a tenure-track appointment the following year., University of Cincinnati, DAAP – School of Architecture and Interior Design, Cincinnati, OH

2021 -2023 Workhabitat Architect, Sustainable interior design for cultural institutions and corporate clients across Switzerland, with focus on workplace experience and adaptive reuse., Studio Banana, Basel, Switzerland

2011 -2020 Architect, Nine years of practice at Herzog & de Meuron, Basel. Key projects include M+ Museum Hong Kong, Public Hotel New York, and Roche Tower 2 Basel., Herzog & deMeuron, Basel, Switzerland

2010 -2011 Architect, Architectural design and project coordination in private practice in Lugano, Switzerland., Nicola Probst Architetti, Lugano, Switzerland

2007 -2008 Trainee, Early-career training at Aires Mateus Associados, Lisbon — contributing to residential projects, competitions, and urban masterplans., Aires Mateus Associados, Lisbon, Portugal