Olá! My name’s Isadora, I’m a Brazilian architect soon to finish my Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Policy Design. After my Bachelor in Rio de Janeiro I have worked in interior design, where I had good times thinking about furniture details. During my Bachelor studies I had several opportunities to engage in urban studies, from a qualitative research in social housing to an exchange year in Polimi in 2014. The latter left me the certainty that I would like to be an urban planner/designer after my undergraduate course.

I am interested in how urban design can shift power unbalances – particularly when the unheard finds her/his voice echoing in squares and streets. Unfortunately, in most of the big cities it is more common that the demands of the unpowerful stay unattended. My hometown, like many others, is a wonderful city marked with strong inequalities where despite the difficulties people continue pursuing their dreams daily in the streets.

In my spare time I like to exchange postcards, organize parties and sing along in karaokes. I am attracted by multiculturalism – in Milan I even used to organize meetings for expats for more than a year. It was a nice experience as I love to host people and make sure everyone feels comfortable and welcomed. Despite being an architect, my ideal home would be on the move: either on a boat or a van.

For me Urban Diorama means all the cities that inhabit our minds. By experimenting in various forms (text, drawings, voice, …) we can exchange ideas and build together cities closer to our wishes. Above all, for me a city should be plural.

Paloma:
I am an Architect and Urban planner, I was born in Arequipa Perú, where I graduated as an Architect. Immediately after, I moved to Johannesburg, South Africa where I worked for almost 6 years. In 2013 I travelled over a year through India and South East Asia.

On my return to South Africa I started a practice where I focused mainly on residential projects. I enjoyed the years doing this job very much, the conversations with clients and learning from their lifestyles. I have always been fascinated by how architecture influences how people live, their health, the way how families interact in the spaces without even perceiving their effects. Furthermore, my trip reopened my previous interest in urban planning,
I believe a space designed taking into consideration the context, the culture, the history has an important role in shaping individuals’ interactions. While travelling I observed this phenomenon from towns to town, places that while looking similar were used in widely different ways.

This trip was an amazing and enriching experience. I visited many small towns and learnt from their history and their living ways. In 2018…

Salam!

My name is Sara and I am an architect and soon an urban planner. I come from a multicultural country (Sudan). Sudan is like a continent, each tribe has its own culture, heritage, history, music and tradition. I grew in the capital Khartoum where I got to witness many diverse atmospheres. I am passionate about architecture and the urban context especially when they act to empower the minority of the community. I have worked in Qatar for one tear and a half straight after my graduation form the Bachelor of Architecture from Sudan. This experience has taught me so much and opened my horizon. After that I returned to my country and worked for almost 9 years and it was then I felt the need for an additional study, and it is when I came to Italy for the master’s degree. While my master studies in Milano I got the chance to do an Erasmus in Belgium and it was yet a very knowledgeable experience.

In my free time I like to volunteer in any civic act and charities to help the ones in need. I also like swimming, playing tennis, traveling and always making new friends.
For me Urban Diorama is a great platform that has the chance to bring together like minded minds to work hand by hand to create various inhabitable spaces considering its special conditions.