Ornella Iuorio
Professore associato
ICAR/10 - Architettura tecnica
Ornella Iuorio, is Associate Professor in Architectural Engineering at the Polytechnic of Milan (IT). Formerly, she was Full professor and Chair in Architecture and Structures at the University of Leeds, UK, and Program Leader in Architectural Engineering. She now serves as Visiting Professor at University of Leeds.
Professor Iuorio has an established reputation in academia and industry for innovations in: sustainable design of lightweight structures, and resilient built environment. With her group, AS_Lab, She explores the opportunities offered by computational tools, prefabrication, lightweight steel systems, advanced manufacturing and robotics in creating innovative low carbon and resilient construction systems. In recognition of her work, she was awarded as one of the “Top 50 Women in Engineering: “Invertors & Innovators”, and her work has been exposed in multiple venues, with the latter, currently exposed at Venice Biennale 2023, where she presented “Set in transition” a robotically assembled dry stack self-standing shell. Professor Iuorio holds a portfolio of funded research projects in excess of 6.5Million Euros, funded by the EPSRC, ESRC, Innovate UK and British Academy. She has also led a World University Network (WUN_BRIC), and held a fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA). She serves as Associate Editor for the Journal “Architecture, Structure and Construction”, and as scientific committee member of many international conferences (like ICSA, fib, SEEDS).
Iuorio has published more than 100 papers in international journals, conference proceedings and edited books.
Funded research projects:
2021 – 2024. Prefabs sprouting: Modern Methods of Construction and the English housing crisis (GtR (ukri.org). ESRC grant: O. Iuorio, A. Wallace, C. Unterhitzenberger, L. Burns, Value: £ 726,000
2021 – 2024. UKRI Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre For Mineral-based Construction Materials. EPSRC grant (EP/V011820/1). Co-I: Iuorio. Value: £4,400,000
2021. WUN-BRIC. World University Network to Building Resilience In Construction. PI: O. Iuorio, with colleagues from University of Leeds, University of Auckland, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, University of Ibadan. Research Groups – Worldwide Universities Network (wun.ac.uk)
2020 – 2024. “Exploration of Parametric Design and Robotic Assembly of Shell Structures”, Funded by EPSRC, Value: £75,000
2019 – 2021. NOVA-VIDA: Novel approach for vital infrastructure post-disaster. British Academy – Infrastructure for wellbeing grant. PI: O. Iuorio, Co-Is: M. Janoschka, R. Romano & S.A. Bernal, Value: £300,000 Novel Approach for Vital Infrastructure Post Disaster | The British Academy
2019 – 2022. Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Ilke Homes. Founded by Innovate UK. PI: Ornella Iuorio, Value: £ 300,000
2019 – 2020. Digital Design and Fabrication, Funded by Laidlaw. PI: O. Iuorio, Scholar: H. Ottmann, Value: £ 10,000
2019. Digital Fabrication of Shell Structures. Funded by EPSRC Summer Project. PI: O. Iuorio, Scholar: E. Pugsley, Value: £3,000
2018 – 2019. Modular Housing, as response to the UK housing Crisis, Funded by ESRC LSSI IAA. PI: O. Iuorio, A. Wallace. Value: £ 6,000. Project website: https://www.researchgate.net/project/Modular-house-building-as-a-response-to-the-housing-crisis-ESRC-LSSI-IAA
2016. Investigation of digital fabrication through performances Funded by Leeds Cultural Institute. Leeds Creative Labs DARE Edition