Dr Giacomo Damiani

Giacomo is Co-Director of the Master of Architecture (MArch) course at ARU. His research focuses on the relevance of historical architecture for contemporary design, with particular interest in applied science, sustainability, circular design strategies and energy conscious design. Giacomo has held research fellowships in Rome (Italy) and published in peer-reviewed journals such as Early Science and Medicine and Papers of the British School at Rome.

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Background

After a combined Bachelor and Masters in Architecture and Building Engineering at the University of Bologna, and several years in practice in Bologna and London (Walters & Cohen Architects), Giacomo completed an Arts and Humanities Research Council (CHASE) funded PhD at the University of Kent.

Prior to joining ARU in September 2023, Giacomo taught several history and design modules at the University of Kent – School of Architecture and Planning (2018-2023). Giacomo was also invited critic at the University of Westminster – School of Architecture and Cities.

Giacomo’s research focuses on the relationships between architectural theory and practice from historical contexts to the present. Giacomo’s research has developed through his PhD thesis ‘Geometrical Bodies as Material Forms’ focusing on the works of the Renaissance mathematician and natural philosopher Luca Pacioli and the architect Donato Bramante, and during research fellowships at the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History and British School at Rome. Giacomo is keen to supervise students interested in architectural history and theory, heritage studies, sustainability, circular design strategies and related areas of research.

Spoken Languages

• English
• Italian

Research interests

• History and theory of architecture
• Heritage studies
• Sustainability, circular design strategies and energy conscious design
• Architecture and wellbeing
• Drawing and methods of architectural representation

Areas of research supervision

• History and theory of architecture
• Heritage studies
• Sustainability, circular design strategies and energy conscious design
• Passive House standard and its implementation in the UK

Teaching

Giacomo teaches History and Theory and Environmental Design and Technology modules in the Master of Architecture course. Modules taught include:

• Transdisciplinary Research Methods
• Dissertation – Design Manifesto
• Environmental Consciousness and Climate Literacy
• Studio 3.2 Integrated Architectural Design Thesis

Giacomo also acts as supervisor for PhD thesis and dissertations and delivers masterclasses on Passive House design at all year levels in the BA (Hons) Architecture and Master of Architecture courses.

Qualifications

• Masters in Architecture and Building Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy
• PhD in Architecture, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
• • Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (Higher Education), Anglia Ruskin University, UK
• Certified Passive House Designer, Passive House Institute, Germany

Memberships, editorial boards

• Registered Architect in the UK – ARB (Architects Registration Board)
• Registered Engineer (Ingegnere) in Italy – Ordine degli Ingegneri Forlì-Cesena, Settore Civile ed Ambientale
• RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Chartered Member
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE)

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

• Giles Worley Fellow at the British School at Rome
• Scientific Guest – Research Placement at the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History, Rome

Selected recent publications

Damiani, G. (2024). Form and Matter of Regular Geometrical Bodies in Luca Pacioli’s Summa (1494) and Compendium de divina proportione (1498). Early Science and Medicine, 29(3), pp. 230–70. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1163/15733823-20240106.

Damiani, G. (2022). Giles Worsley Rome Fellowship: Learning from Bramante: Donato Bramante’s Geometrical Forms in Renaissance Rome and the Digital Revolution in Architectural Design. Papers of the British School at Rome, 90, pp. 371–2. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S006824622200023X.

Damiani, G. (2022). Geometrical Bodies as Material Forms: Luca Pacioli’s Summa, Divina proportione, Euclid’s Elements and the Architecture of the Late Fifteenth-Early Sixteenth Century. PhD thesis, University of Kent. Available at: https://doi.org/10.22024/UniKent/01.02.95821.

Damiani, G. (2022). The Mathematical-Geometrical Episteme of the Twelfth-Early Thirteenth Century Southern Italy and Its Relationship with Architectural Forms and Concepts of Sacred Space. In: Statusbericht 2019-2021 (Rome: Bibliotheca Hertziana), pp. 177. Available at: https://www.biblhertz.it/3237508/BHMPI_Statusbericht_digital_2019-21.pdf.

Damiani, G. (forthcoming). Bramante’s Design Process in the Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio and Three Methods of Architectural Representation in Early Sixteenth-Century Rome.

Recent presentations and conferences

Rethinking Sacred Heritage Between Restoration and Social Practice: St Antony’s RC Church in Forest Gate, East London [co-authored with Dr Gimin Lee (University of Kent)]. European Academy of Religion 2025 Conference, University of Vienna, Austria, 2025.

This is our space / Thaxted: How to Preserve Urban Heritage for a more Inclusive and Safer Community [co-authored with Dr Carla Molinari and Dr Antonio Blanco-Montero (Anglia Ruskin University)]. Amps London Heritages 2025 Conference, University of Greenwich, UK, 2025.

Learning from Bramante: Donato Bramante’s Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio and the Digital Revolution in Architectural Design. Architecture at the British School at Rome Alumni and Supporters Evening, Allies and Morrison Studios London, UK, 2022.

Lessons on Architectural Design Process from Historic Buildings to Contemporary Practice: Sacred Architecture. Invited Presentations and Design Workshops. Studio Verve Architects and Walters & Cohen Architects, London, UK, 2022.

Cleonides, Vitruvius, Frontinus, Poliziano: Macrotextual Design and Architectural Theory in the Late Fifteenth Century [co-authored with Simon Smets (UCL/Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Neo-Latin Studies)]. Filling in the Blanks: A Symposium on Sharing Expertise within the Humanities, Yale Department of Classics, New Haven, USA and online, 2022.

Media experience

Giacomo took part in an online conference held by the CNR (Consiglio Nazionale della Ricerca), the Italian equivalent of the UK Research Council. The event titled, ‘Culture and Research in Great Britain’ showcased leading Italian researchers living in the UK. The event went live on the CNR channels, and a recording is available to watch online via the Comunicazione CNR’s YouTube channel [December 2020].