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Marcella Camponogara

  • Position: Assistant Professor
  • Department: Department of Architecture
Brief Biography

Marcella Camponogara is assistant professor of interior design in the Department of Architecture at The American University in Cairo. Her teaching and research explore the architecture of interior and domestic spaces, museography and exhibition design, with a central commitment to human-scale experience, spatial narrative and adaptive reuse.

Her scholarship examines how interior spaces function as narrative environments capable of communicating collective identity, intercultural relations and vulnerable or fragile memories. This research spans performative and flexible approaches to contemporary housing, spatial communication within museum and exhibition settings, and design strategies for reinterpreting and repurposing historical structures.

Across her international academic career, Camponogara has held faculty positions at Ajman University, Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, CEPT University in Ahmedabad and Politecnico di Milano. Her research contributions include co-developing the foundational proposal for the Built Environment Research Lab at Prince Sultan University and collaborating with the Interior Reuse Lab at Politecnico di Milano.

Research Interest
  • Architecture of interior and domestic spaces: Investigating spatial layout, living environments and human-scale experience, including flexible and performative approaches to contemporary housing.
  • Museography and exhibition design: Examining narrative museums, exhibition settings, spatial communication and the dialogue between physical space and curated content.
  • Spatial narratives and cultural spaces: Exploring how spatial design communicates collective identity, intercultural relations and vulnerable or fragile memories.
  • Adaptive reuse and heritage conservation: Researching design strategies for reinterpreting, preserving and repurposing historical structures and interior architectures.
  • Women in design (Middle East and North Africa region): Mapping and documenting female interior designers, local design histories and gendered spatial practices across the Middle East and North Africa.
Education
  • Doctorate, Politecnico di Milano
  • Master's degree in architecture, Politecnico di Milano
  • Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Politecnico di Milano
  • Pasina, I., Camponogara, M., Kassem, A. and Eldanaf, T. (2026). "Performative reuse and adaptive authenticity: reviving Sharjah's modernist heritage." Built Heritage, 10(1), 32. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43238-026-00278-4
  • Basso Peressut, L., Camponogara, M. and Colombo, C. (2026). Milano in mostra. Spazi e luoghi dell'esporre. Fondazione FOAMi.
  • Kassem, A., Eldanaf, T. S., Camponogara, M. and Hamdan, W. (2025). "Designing for change: performative and flexible approaches to contemporary housing." Frontiers in Built Environment, 11, 1677525.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43238-026-00278-4
  • Pasina, I. and Camponogara, M. (2021). "Interior stories, interior voices: Donne e progetto di interni in Medio Oriente tra tradizione e innovazione." In J. Leveratto, F. Cuppone, L. Arrighi, C. D'Ambros, G. Carli, S. Quagliotto and E. Miglietta (Eds.), I. Metodi.
  • Camponogara, M. (2020). "Exhibiting fragile memories: A discussion with Leonardo Sangiorgi from Studio Azzurro." In C. F. Colombo and J. Leveratto (Eds.), Contested spaces, concerted project: Designs for vulnerable memories (pp. 110–123). LetteraVentidue