Lucia Alonso Aranda

Lucia Alonso Aranda is a Mexico City-born architect and researcher based in London, affiliated with the Royal College of Art as a researcher in the Lab for Design and Machine Learning within the School of Architecture. Her work focuses on the intersection of housing design, regulatory frameworks, and social wellbeing.

• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Urbanism (2014) from Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City
• MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design (2018) from Architectural Association School of Architecture, funded by FONCA-CONACYT scholarship

Research interests span socio-spatial challenges in housing, the role of collective infrastructure, grassroots movements, and private funding in shaping urban environments. Her dissertation examined migrant housing models in Tijuana, while current projects like Housing Standardisation (funded by UK Arts and Humanities Research Council) analyze regulatory impacts on affordable housing quality across multiple countries.

Scientific recognition includes:

• 2014 Bachelor’s thesis award of excellence (Mexico City)
• 2016-2018 FONCA-CONACYT scholarship
• 2018 AA MPhil dissertation distinction

Key projects:

• Housing Standardisation (2022–24) - Investigating architectural design standards across 6 countries
• The Home, the Household and Covid-19 (2021) - Pandemic housing impact analysis in London
• Migration Effects in Ethiopia/Uganda (2019–20) - Collaborative fieldwork with Addis Ababa University