Simona Valeriani

Dr Simona Valeriani is a historian of architecture and technology at the Royal College of Art's School of Arts & Humanities, specializing in building archaeology and the history of knowledge. With a background spanning German and British architecture from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries, she has developed significant expertise in architectural model making and material culture studies.

Her research focuses on the role of artifacts and physical spaces in knowledge creation, particularly within global historical contexts. Valeriani has pioneered work on architectural models as knowledge-producing objects, examining their function in design processes across historical periods. Her research-led teaching incorporates experimental methods that engage directly with material practices.

Valeriani's recent publications reveal strong thematic continuity in her work, with consistent exploration of architectural models, knowledge transmission through material objects, and the intersection of arts and sciences in historical contexts. Her scholarship demonstrates increasing interdisciplinary breadth, connecting architectural history with global history, material studies, and the history of science.

• Publication Grant, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (2021)
• Publishing Grant, Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (2020)
• Shaping Space - Architectural Models in Context, AHRC (2019)
• Designing the Future: Innovation and the Construction of the Royal Albert Hall, Leverhulme Trust (2018)
• Architectural models in context: creativity, skill and spectacle, AHRC (2017)

As Principal Investigator for major research projects, Valeriani has supervised doctoral students including Roxanne Ravenhill. Her curatorial practice complements her scholarly work, with exhibitions like 'Shaping Space: Architectural Models Revealed' (2021) at the Building Centre demonstrating her commitment to public engagement with architectural history.

Valeriani leads the International Research Network 'Architectural Models in context' and has collaborated with institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Society, and Royal Institute of British Architects, establishing herself as a key figure in the material turn within architectural history.