Gia Daskalakis

Gia Daskalakis is an Associate Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, teaching architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design across undergraduate and graduate programs. Her work bridges academia and practice through Das:20 Architecture Studio, which explores environmental, ethical, and spatial challenges in complex systems. Her research investigates the ecological and societal impacts of transitioning to plant-based diets, reimagining land-use patterns and spatial assemblages.

Education: PhD in Architecture from Universidad Politècnica de Catalunya (Barcelona), BFA and BArch from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

Research interests include speculative design for post-animal-agriculture landscapes, urban material histories, and interdisciplinary approaches to environmental sustainability. Recent exhibitions include the Union of International Architects Congress (Barcelona) and the European/North American Landscape Urbanism Exhibition.

Selected awards/grants: AIA St. Louis Design Awards (2015/2010), Graham Foundation Grant (1999), and the Young Architects Forum Competition Award (Architectural League of New York). Her work emphasizes speculative design’s role in addressing global ecological crises.

Labs/Teams: Leads Das:20 Architecture Studio, a platform for experimental design research. Current projects explore multi-scalar environmental strategies from territorial planning to architectural details.