Staff Profiles


Dr Francesco Proto

Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Member of Place, Culture and Identity Research Group

School of Architecture

Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment

Francesco Proto

Phone number:

Email: fproto@brookes.ac.uk

Location:

Francesco is a chartered architect, design practitioner and an architectural historian and theorist with a diverse and extensive knowledge of history and theory of architecture, architectural philosophy, critical thinking and studio practice. He has a reputation as a leading theorist and historian, with a solid track record of excellence in research and teaching.

Francesco earned a Magna cum Laude degree (first class) in Architecture and Urban Design from the First University of Rome “Sapienza” (Parts I and II equivalent) and completed an MA in Architecture and Critical Theory from the University Nottingham with a dissertation entitled “Architecture and Simulation”, which focussed on the three developmental stages of Post-modern architecture and its transition towards super-iconization. His PhD in Architecture, Visual Culture and Social Sciences from the University of Nottingham, entitled “The Obscenity of Subjectivity”, investigated the ever-changing relationship between architecture and contemporary society. The thesis later developed into an interest in the ‘post-human’, a topic he has addressed in both his research and teaching.

A full member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, registered with the UK Architects’ Registration Board and the Italian Registration Board, Francesco has trained at Dominique Perrault in Paris, where he focused on international competitions and projects such as the London Olympics 2012, Donau City (Vienna), the Marinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg) and the transport exchange in Naples (Central Station, Piazza Garibaldi). He is also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).

Francesco has either curated and/or participated in a number of exhibition such as “Italian Pop Art: 1960s Until Now” (University of Chieti), the 10th Venice Architecture Biennale, “Cities: People, Society, Architecture”, where he exhibited short films on urbanism entitled “Serial Townscapes I & II” for the cinematic exhibition “Other Visions” (2006), “The Post-human and Architecture” at the Lincoln ‘Frequency’ Digital Arts Festival (2015), opened the 57th Art Venice Biennale with an open lecture on art, politics and simulation (2017), presented an open lecture and public talk at the Milan Design Triennale for the 40 years from the construction of the Pompidou Centre in Paris (2017). He is also active in entering international architecture competitions. He recently submitted entries for three international ideas competitions - the ‘RIBA Journal Bull’s Eye Design Competition’ (2013), the ‘Berlin Natural History Museum’ (2014) and the ‘Costa Concordia Lighthouse Memorial’ (2015), all of which having received special Honourable Mentions.