NEWS Hello Ambra Trotto! We address five questions for Ambra Trotto, senior lecturer at the Umeå School of Architecture and director of the Interactive Institute.
1. What does your work involve?
“At the Umeå School of Architecture, I'm senior lecturer and mostly work with research. I also chair the school’s research council, and at the Interactive Institute, I'm studio director, leading a team of 14 researchers where we work on applied research in interaction design. By working in both places, I enjoy the cross-pollination of practices and hopefully provide a richer contribution to both environments.”
2. How did you end up in Umeå?
“I was trained as an architect at the University of Florence in Italy, and later took my doctoral degree in Interaction Design at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. When I arrived, four years ago, Umeå offered me very attractive conditions: a rich international environment, a convergence of thrilling multidisciplinary research contexts and encouragement for individuals’ development, as teachers, researchers and also as persons.”
3. You are involved in the +Project; what is that?
“The purpose of the +Project is to create opportunities for regional development based on sustainable production techniques for residential buildings that use so-called additive manufacturing and wood-based materials. The role of the Umeå School of Architecture is to lead discussions on digital architectural aspects involving experts in the field, the building trade and all stakeholders. We wanted to open up for dialogue and bring discussions to the next level.”
4. What are your personal objectives as a researcher, architect and designer?
“Every researcher has his or her own obsession. Mine is social justice. I believe that design and architecture can contribute to positive changes in society by introducing alternative ways of tackling social challenges. One goal for the upcoming years is to gain trust in society for the potential that design and architecture can have as a research field. What we do and how we do it create unexpected results and not everyone likes to be surprised!”
5. What happens next at the Umeå School of Architecture?
“A lot of exciting stuff is happening! The whole school is working intensely on a development project which aims at putting all formal structures into place. My personal task is to further develop the school’s research council, where we now have local, national and international members who are acknowledged authorities in the architectural field. To widen the base, we have also invited further competent resources from other research fields. I'm confident that we'll create something extremely valuable and, I’d dare to say, unique at the Umeå School of Architecture.”
TEXT: Mattias Grundström Mitz
PHOTO: Ulrika Bergfors
Umeå School of Architecture is part of Umeå University and is beautifully located on the banks of the Ume River, close to the city centre.
The school of Architecture was established in September 2009 and is a laboratory for experimental architecture where both education and research are conducted. It is part of the Umeå Arts Campus together with Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, Umeå Institute of Design, HUMlab-X (digital humanities), Bildmuseet (a contemporary art museum), Sliperiet and a library with literature within the fields of art, design and architecture.
Interactive Institute Swedish ICT is an experimental IT and interaction design research group that conducts applied research and shapes innovative practices. The Interactive Institute has expertise in interaction design, visualisation, user behaviour, sound design, games and entertainment. The Interactive Institute is an important part of RISE, Research Institutes of Sweden, which is a network of research and technology organisations, owned by the Swedish state. The Institutes within RISE perform industrial research and innovation. In 2014, the RISE institutes had altogether 2,400 employees.
Editor: Ingrid Söderbergh