Educational background Despina Linaraki is an Architect engineer with a strong focus in design by research. She was awarded her Master in Architectural engineering degree with high honours, in 2013, from the Technical University of Crete, in Greece. After completing her first architecture degree she registered as an Architect at the Technical Chamber of Greece and she founded an architecture office in Greece. At the same time, she was one out of ten architecture students accepted worldwide for a Master of Science degree in Advanced Architectural Design at Columbia University in the City of New York. Although, she had started my own architecture studio in Greece, she decided to grab the opportunity and move to New York to pursue my second master's degree while gaining living and working experience from one of the most captivating cities in the world regarding architectural design and innovation. During this Master degree she had the chance to visit and design for various global cities around the world. That included not only New York, but also London, Moscow, and Mumbai. The design studios focused on a human and environmental centre approach with a strong focus on innovation and creativity. During her architectural studies she participated in many competitions, workshops, and summer schools worldwide. Also, she exhibited het work in numerous places. Moreover, she volunteered for numerous design and research projects both in Greece and New York. In addition, she has developed an extensive international network of architects, engineers, scientists, and researchers. Professional experience After her graduation in 2015, she worked in architecture firms in New York. From 2015 to 2017 she worked at Purcell Architects, where they were designing and constructing educational and commercial projects. In 2017 she started working at Hill West Architects, where she was part of the design team. In Hill West, she was involved with the design of high-rise condominiums and rental towers in Manhattan and Brooklyn. She was responsible for the concept design, massing, façade design, material selection and overall representation of the project. Working in New York as an Architect it was one of the most amazing experiences in her life. She got to learn how to work in fast-paced environments, in multicultural groups, documentation and construction, and how to be responsible for large scale design projects. Currently, she still runs her own Architectural design studio in Greece with small and medium scale architecture projects. Research experience In 2019 she moved to Australia to pursue her PhD, at Sea Cities Lab, in Griffith University, under the supervision of Prof. Joerg Baumeister, Prof. Paul Burton and Dr. Tim Stevens. Her PhD research Growing Living Islands, an Architectural toolbox, focuses on the adaptation of low-lying islands to the challenges of climate change (specifically sea-level rise, floods and erosion) and overpopulation through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates architecture with ecology and coastal engineering. Specifically it explores architectural design concepts to grow coral islands by growing aquatic organisms (corals, algae, molluscs, foraminifera) as fundamental elements in the structure. This research’s case study focuses in the Maldives. Apart from her PhD research, her research interests expand to the exploration of indigenous architecture, adaptation of coastal cities to sea-level rise and floods, architectural design in the water, biomimetics in architectural design, biomaterials, architecture in extreme environments and psychology of space. One of her stepping stones was the collaboration with Architect Julia Watson, in New York, for her book “Lo—TEK. Design by Radical Indigenism” published by TASCHEN (one of the leading publishers in the field of architecture). This fruitful research collaboration led to a new publication “Lo-TEK: Underwater and Intertidal Nature-Based Technologies” which focuses on the exploration of indigenous architectural designs that adapt to sea-level rise and floods. In addition, during the last three years she has collaborated with Prof. Joerg Baumeister in various research projects that explore aquatic architecture and the adaptation of coastal cities to sea-level rise and floods. Their research project Cities +1, explores the development of four adaptation strategies along the river bed in Currumbin, Gold Coast. Teaching experience Currently, she is a Lecturing in Architecture at Griffith University. Despina has taught: o1902ENG Design Studio 2, Course Convenor: Despina Linaraki o1901ENG Design Studio 1, Course Convenor: Joerg Baumeister o2903ENG: Design Studio 3, Course Convenor: Joanne Choueiri o7008ENG: Research by Practice Workshop 1, Course Convenor: Caryl Bosman o7009ENG: Research by Practice Workshop 2, Course Convenor: Caryl Bosman Furthermore, she has tutored in various architecture courses at Griffith University. o2022 | 1901EBE Introduction to Architecture, Course Convenor: Joerg Baumeister o2021 | 7702ENV Architecture Research Project 2, Course Convenor: Rongrong Yu o2021 | 2914ENV Construction Materials and Practice, Course Convenor: Cecilia Bischeri o2021 | 1911ENV Introduction to Architecture and Landscape Design, Course Convenor: Joerg Baumeister o2020 | 1911ENV Introduction to Architecture and Landscape Design, Course Convenor: Jessica Harris Current and future goals Currently, apart from her Lecturing role in Architecture, she is finalising her PhD research and developing her own Architecture research lab “Living Islands” in collaboration with marine biology researchers, focusing on the symbiosis of architecture and ecology, particularly in the design and construction of living structures that adapt in the water. Their research focuses on material and design innovations. At the same time, she is co-founding the Architecture studio “IIIIC” with Brice Pannetier where they will focus on architecture and research projects. Her goal is to continue working in architectural practice, research and teaching. She wants to develop a collaborative environment for architecture and ecology professions, promote multidisciplinary design research and innovation that respond to the current and future demands of the environment and peoples' lives.