Paola Gregory

Paola Gregory is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Polytechnic University of Turin, with significant academic contributions to architectural theory, urban transformation, and the affective dimensions of space. She maintains dual academic affiliations, serving as a member of the Board of the PhD Program in 'Architecture. Theories and Design' at Sapienza University of Rome while continuing her primary appointment at Politecnico di Torino.

Her research focuses on the intersection of architecture, human experience, and urban transformation, with particular emphasis on affective spaces, social content in architectural design, and the relationship between embodied cognition and built environments. Gregory examines how emotional and sensory experiences shape our interaction with urban spaces, especially in contexts of regeneration and transformation. Her work bridges architecture with neuroscience, exploring how the body perceives and attributes meaning to environments through embodied cognition. She has conducted significant research on Turin's urban transformations, particularly in the Le Vallette neighborhood and the Vallino railway yard area, examining how de-industrialized spaces transition from Fordist to post-Fordist urban landscapes.

Gregory's extensive publication record reveals a consistent trajectory exploring the emotional and experiential dimensions of architecture. Her recent work increasingly integrates neuroscience perspectives with architectural design, examining how spatial configurations affect human cognition and emotion. She has pioneered approaches that consider atmosphere, empathy, and memory as central components in urban design processes, challenging traditional functionalist approaches to space.

• National Competition of Ideas for Projects for the Redevelopment of Areas for Neighborhood Green Spaces (1987)
• Publication of works and treatises by the National Research Council, Italy (1998)

As an advisor, Gregory has supervised numerous theses exploring innovative intersections between architecture and other disciplines, including the relationship between architecture and neuroscience, and architecture's role in the metaverse. Her teaching spans both undergraduate and doctoral levels, with a consistent focus on integrating social content and human experience into architectural design education. She has coordinated experimental workshops that engage local communities in participatory design processes, such as the 'Qui Abito' project in Turin's Le Vallette neighborhood, which used play practices to reimagine public spaces.