Elena ROCCHI

Elena Rocchi (Cagliari, 1966) is an educator, and researcher whose work bridges architecture, space architecture, immersive design, and cultural inquiry. She has been teaching at Arizona State University since 2013, where she is Clinical Professor of Architecture and Director of the Master of Science in Design in Space Architecture & Extreme Environments, co-founded in 2024 with Guillermo Trotti in collaboration with ASU NewSpace Initiative. She is also a Faculty Affiliate at The Biomimicry Center and a former Fellow at Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. Previously, she served as Senior Architect and Office Director at Miralles Tagliabue EMBT (1995–2008). Rocchi was awarded the AIA Arizona Educator of the Year Award in 2020. Her current research, supported by a HIRBI grant, explores immersive experience design for orbital healthcare, advancing the use of digital twins and extended reality for future habitats. She is also the director of Becoming Interplanetary, a film and research project with astronaut Chris Hadfield and ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative, premiering at the International Astronautical Congress in 2025. At ASU she has pioneered global education studios in Rome and Istanbul, developed film-based teaching methods, and led collaborations that link design, technology, and cultural frameworks. Her teaching and research unite architecture, story, and space as instruments for reimagining how humans live on Earth and beyond.

Events

International Astronautical Congress 2025

29 September - 3 October 2025

Sydney, Australia

Participation: