Marissa has 7 years’ professional experience in both architecture and urban design. Her multi-scalar design expertise ranges from jewelry pieces and artwork to residential and commercial interiors, ground-up residences, mixed-use and multifamily housing developments, and neighborhood urban design studies. Her graduate studies at Columbia University engaged her in research throughout the boroughs of New York and the country of Ecuador, focusing on the multiple benefits of public realms as infrastructure, active and social space, and economic generator.
She has researched and designed solutions to improve environmental quality and reduce development carbon footprints including: building-integrated energy generation (photovoltaic and wind), wetlands water remediation, flood-resilient residential development, bamboo and strawbale structures, energy-efficient lighting systems, geothermal heating and cooling, and products created with renewable or recycled materials. She joined Madlab in 2007.
She is a guest design review critic at Columbia University, Parsons (The New School of Design), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Syracuse University and New Jersey Institute of Technology. Her specific research interests include: urban resiliency related to climate change pressures, focusing on smaller-scale and unorganized development, and architectural design competitions in relation to professional habitus and response to natural disaster.
She is a registered California Architect, #31876 and member of the AIA.