Amanda Reis, MAA, MRAIC, is a Canadian-Portuguese educator, architect, designer, and artist. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture in the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at the Rochester Institute of Technology [RIT], located in Rochester, New York. She was previously an Instructor in the in the Department of Architecture in the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba [U of M], located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for seven years. Amanda is a registered architect in Canada and has a collaborative practice called AREA.
TEACHING
Her teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate courses based on her three philosophies, hands-on learning, interdisciplinary learning, and community-oriented learning. Amanda has taught core courses including Urban Media Lab, Studio [Architecture and Interior Design], Design-Build, Thesis, Materials, Structures, and Assemblies, Architectural Technology, Integrated Building Systems, and Professional Practice [co-taught], as well as elective courses. Her elective course, Northern Design Solutions [RIT], explores potential low-tech design solutions [cold-climate greenhouses] for food insecurity in First Nations communities across Northern Ontario while her elective course, Experimental Farming Design [U of M], explored potential high-tech design solutions [cold-climate container farming] for food insecurity in First Nations communities across Northern Manitoba.
RESEARCH AND CREATIVE WORK
Her research experience includes projects, exhibitions, and publications based on her two areas of interest, social and environmental justice and art + architecture. Amanda has received grants and competitions to support her research including Manitoba Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts grants as well as Winnipeg Warming Huts and Winnipeg Design Festival competitions. She has collaborated with students, faculty, artists, architects, engineers, and underrepresented community groups including the Main Street Project, Thunderbird House, Immigrant Integration and Farming Community Co-Op, and Movimento dos Sem Teto do Centro on several design-build projects, as well as exhibitions and publications.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Her professional experience includes architecture and design projects. Her collaborative practice, AREA, focuses on furniture, installations, pavilions, and single-family homes. Amanda has worked for award-winning practices including David Penner Architect and 5468796 Architecture on single-family homes, multi-family residential buildings, affordable mixed-use buildings, grocery stores, daycares, schools, and university buildings including classrooms, laboratories, and offices, across Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.