Anna Gitelman

Education

• Master of Design Studies, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
• Master of Architecture, Moscow Architectural Institute

Research/Creative Interests

My research explores the relationship between the built environment and human experience through two interconnected lenses: adaptive reuse as a social, ecological, and cultural practice, and the design of spaces that support health, neurodiversity, and inclusive human experience. I investigate how existing structures, from suburban malls to industrial buildings, can be repurposed to generate new forms of social connectivity, reduce carbon footprints, and contribute to more resilient urban ecologies. This work sits at the intersection of interior architecture, environmental psychology, and sustainable design, and has been presented at international venues including the Design Principles and Practices Conference in Valencia, the Annual Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Conference, and the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA).

A second thread of my practice-based scholarship examines how emerging technologies and biological intelligence can inform the design of adaptive, responsive environments, particularly spaces that serve neurodiverse populations. In collaboration with researchers across disciplines, I explore how design can move beyond compliance toward true inclusivity, embedding the logic of living systems into the way we think about interiors, materials, and spatial experience. My work is developed through the Elemental Design Lab, an applied research practice in partnership with Lavallee Brensinger Architects, and is supported by grants from Suffolk University and external research bodies.

Teaching Philosophy

I believe the best thing a teacher can do is help students learn to think. My approach to teaching is rooted in the idea that the built environment shapes human experience in profound ways, and that the people who design it carry a real responsibility to the communities they serve. In my classroom, I try to create a space where we welcome hard questions, ponder complexity, and resist easy answers. I want students to leave with both the skills to do the work and be prepared to question it. To me, that tension between craft and ethics, between making and meaning, is at the heart of education.

Professional Activities and Affiliations

Professional Memberships

• IDEC — East Regional Chair; Grants and Awards Committee Co-Chair; Professional Development Committee Member
• ASID
• IIDA

Juries and Reviews

• Grand Jury Member, FRAME Awards, 2024
• Abstract Reviewer, AIA/ACSA Research Conference, 2023
• Abstract and Creative Scholarship Reviewer, IDEC Regional and National Conferences, 2025–2026
• Student Design Competition Jury Member, IDEC, 2025–2026

Certifications and Standards

• WELL Building Standards
• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

Grants, Awards, Honors & Recognitions

Grants

• Experiential Learning Grant, "Multiples: Echoes of Revolution," Temporary Public Art Installation, 2026
• SCAF Research-Related Travel Grant, 2026
• Faculty Research Assistant, Summer Career Development Stipend, 2026
• Faculty Research Assistant, Summer Career Development Stipend, 2025
• SCAF Research-Related Travel Grant, 2025

Awards & Recognitions

• IDEC Service Award, IDEC Annual Conference, Nominated for CTSE Innovative Teaching Award 2024

Recent Scholarly or Creative Contributions

• Levin, M., & Gitelman, A. (2026). Designing with diverse intelligence: Interfaces, agential materials, and ingressing minds. SUrF: Shared Urban Futures. https://surfutures.eu
• Gitelman, A. (2026, March). From reuse to renewal: Teaching interiors as open systems [Conference presentation]. IDEC Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
• Gitelman, A. (2025, March). Adaptive systems: Reuse and the new forms of social connectivity in interior environments [Conference presentation]. IDEC Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
• Gitelman, A. (2024, March). Towards adaptive reuse architecture: The case of repurposing of the suburban mall [Conference presentation]. 18th International Conference on Design Principles and
• Practices / Cultures of Transformative Design, Valencia, Spain.
• Gitelman, A. (2024). Review of Analysing architecture (5th ed.), by S. Unwin. Taylor & Francis Academic Review Panel.
• Gitelman, A., & Zhao, J. (2020). Golden Send [Peer-reviewed project publication]. Architizer.
• Gitelman, A. (2013). Rethinking the ranch. In G. Ravgiala (Ed.), Rethinking the Ranch (pp. 32–43).

Personal Websites

• www.elemntaldesignlab.com