Anna Nikolaidou

Anna Nikolaidou is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Design at the Faculty of Environment and Technology (FET), University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). She holds a DPhil from UWE Bristol and an MArch from University College London's Bartlett School of Architecture. As a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), she specializes in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of architecture, biomaterials, and biotechnology. Her work focuses on biohybrid material systems using microbial communities for responsive, regenerative, and computing capabilities in architectural and wearable applications.

Anna has taught as a Visiting Professor at IE University (Spain) and conducted research at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and BOKU University Vienna. She leads the BSc (Hons) Architecture programme and is part of UWE’s Unconventional Computing Laboratory. Her research themes include biomaterials, biosensing, sustainable design, and smart wearables, with a focus on fungal and bacterial composites for environmental sensing and adaptive systems.

Anna’s industry experience includes roles at firms like Foster + Partners and KCA International, blending design practice with academic innovation. Her lab explores living materials such as kombucha-based biofilms and fungal networks for applications in responsive building systems, smart wearables, and bioelectric circuits. She actively collaborates across disciplines, including nanoscience and biomedical engineering.