Manuela Mariani is the Acting Director of Foundation Studies at The Boston Architectural College. She is responsible for supervising foundation design studios in the BAC's day program. She embraces teaching as a fulfilling means of giving back to the community by sharing her experiences and insights both as a student and a professional. Working with young aspiring designers brings fresh takes on fundamental aspects of the field, helping her to continually reconsider and reinvent her approach to design.

Manuela holds a Laurea Degree in Architettura from the University of Ferrara, Italy with a focus on historical restoration and green technologies. After obtaining her Italian professional license, she received the Progetto Leonardo Award and began practicing at an environmental architecture firm in the Netherlands. In 2000 she moved to the US, where in addition to continuing her studies in ecological design, she worked on educational and residential projects with architecture firms on the West Coast. In San Francisco she co-founded the firm InTAdesign, and since her arrival in Boston in 2006 has designed a number of residential projects. She has also published articles and the recent book Terrain Vague, a study of interstitial urban space.