Sheila Kennedy

Sheila Kennedy is a Professor of the Practice of Architecture at MIT's School of Architecture + Planning. She also holds an academic role at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Her interdisciplinary practice combines architecture with digital technology and sustainable materials through her firm KVA MATx, a pioneering design-research unit. Kennedy's work focuses on addressing public needs through innovative material systems and energy solutions.

• Education: BA from Wesleyan University, MArch from Harvard (Distinction recipient)
• Founder of Kennedy & Violich Architecture (KVA) and MATx materials research unit

Her research includes the Portable Light Project, recognized with major awards for its solar textile systems empowering developing communities. Kennedy advises governments and industries, including the US Department of Energy, and lectures globally on architecture's role in technology and sustainability.

Key achievements include patents in digital architecture integration, exhibitions at MoMA and Vitra Design Museum, and publications in Design & the Elastic Mind and Extreme Textiles. Her work bridges design, electronics, and material science to advance sustainable solutions.