Aleks Catina

Aleks Catina is a Senior Lecturer and Year 1 Coordinator at the University of East London (UEL), based in the Department of Architecture & Visual Arts within the School of Architecture Computing and Engineering. He holds a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and is completing a PhD at Birkbeck, University of London, focusing on radical difference in post-colonial and post-communist architectural cultural production.

Education: MA Architecture & Technology (UEL), MA RCA (Royal College of Art), BA (Hons) Architecture. His research explores decolonized curriculum development, architectural pedagogy, and the intersection of architecture with post-colonial theory. He organizes annual history field trips to Italy for first-year students to emphasize experiential learning.

Research interests include critical architecture theory, the role of irony in design, and the socio-cultural dimensions of architectural monuments. His forthcoming monograph, The Pillars of Uncertainty (2024), examines architectural fiction and critical idioms in non-Western contexts.

• Teaching modules: First-Year Design Studio, History & Theory (Years 1-2)
• Key publications: Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, Architecture Review, ARQ

Awards include SFHEA recognition for pedagogical excellence. He has presented at conferences like AHRA and London Metropolitan Learning & Teaching Conference, focusing on widening access through design education and the architectural high street’s socio-cultural role.