Maria Rius Ruiz

Maria Rius Ruiz is an architect and designer. Her research focuses on experimental collective housing designs organized around common spaces. By analyzing them, her research aims to understand how can architectural design contribute to more connected, equitable and sustainable communities in cities.  

In 2013, she co-founded NUA arquitectures, an architecture and design studio which has consistently been recognized as one of the emerging young studios in Spain and Europe. The studio’s work explores the fields of architecture and design at different scales through strategies sensitive to the history of sites and the environment, seeking to respond to social and cultural changes in contemporary cities and territories. NUA  has been selected in the FAD 2018 Awards, was finalist in the 14th Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Town Planning, and nominated for the European Contemporary Architecture Award - Mies van der Rohe 2019 awards, among others. NUA’s work has been widely published and exhibited, including the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2016.  

Prior to joining MIT, she taught at various institutions such as the School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB), the School of Architecture of Reus (EAR), and the University School of Design and Engineering of Barcelona (ELISAVA) among others. Maria holds a Master of Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Barcelona (ETSAB, UPC) with the highest honors and supplemented her training at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and Barcelona School of Art and Design (EINA). She has been awarded several Fellowships such as the Centre for Canadian Architecture (CCA)-DRRP, La Caixa Fellowship, and the Arquia Scholarship.