Kasia Nawratek is a senior lecturer at Manchester School of Architecture, a qualified architect and a writer. Her current research interests are focused on the climate crisis response using post-human perspectives in the context of architectural education, and literary methods in architectural modes of investigation. Her teaching practice is underpinned by Mikhail Bakhtin’s idea of polyphony which fosters an inclusive and dialogic studio culture. Kasia is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

She is currently BA3 studio lead in the Some Kind of Nature atelier and teaches in BA1 studio. Kasia also leads a Research Methods workshop in MArch reflecting on the School's recent move to MTC building using literary methods of investigation and creative writing.  

Before joining Manchester School of Architecture, Kasia led the Master of Architecture design studio at the Sheffield School of Architecture and Birmingham School of Architecture and Design, where she also led 2nd year undergraduate course. Before Birmingham, Kasia taught across undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Plymouth where she was also responsible for the International Design Foundation programme.

Alongside her academic career, Kasia is also a creative writer. Her children’s book Kresek, Bartek i całkiem zwyczajny początek won the Kornel Makuszyński Polish Nationwide Literary Award for 2017.

Research

Invited Papers

Key note address at the Making (A)Mends, ATUT 2022 Symposium https://www.atut.fi organised by Tampere University, Finland: Choose your tools wisely: Using dialogical architectural pedagogies for sustainable world. 

Discussion panel “Gender and Sustainability” hosted by Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark (December, 2021), presentation: Braids, Knits, Entanglements. 

Books

Nawratek, K., 2022. 'Introduction', Routledge.

Nawratek, K., 2022. 'Space and Language in Architectural Education', Routledge.

Book Chapters

Nawratek, K., 2022. 'Mapping the creative edge'. In Space and Language in Architectural Education, pp. 79-98, Routledge.

Nawratek, K., 2021. 'Hope in the Burning World'. In Pelsmakers, S., Newman, N. (eds.) Design Studio Vol. 1: Everything Needs to Change Architecture and the Climate Emergency, RIBA Publishing.

Nawratek, K., Nawratek, K., 2015. '978-84-942414-7-5'. In Radical Inclusivity. Architecture and Urbanism, dpr-barcelona.

Media

Nawratek, K., Crompton, E., McCabe, O., Giladi, P., 2023. 'Critical Pedagogy podcast episode'.

Other Outputs

Nawratek, K., Bus - Nawratek, K., 2024. 'Experimental Pedagogies in Architectural Education'.