Cristina Morbi is a London-based Landscape and Architectural Designer, Director of Maetherea. Her work focuses on site-specific landscape architecture, environmental design, and public art, creating spaces that merge ecological sensitivity with artistic expression, creating inhabitable structures that change through time.
As a Lecturer at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, Cristina leads Architecture Unit 7 MEng and collaborates with universities in London and Milan. From 2018, she has been a Visiting Professor for the MSc program at Politecnico di Milano School of Design and BSA and MA at the London Metropolitan University – School of Art, Architecture and Design, leading Design for Change module.
In 2018, Cristina founded Maetherea, a design studio that serves as a manifesto uniting design, architecture and research. Her work explores the poetics of unpredictability and performative landscapes, emphasizing time-based design to reveal the evolving connections between natural and artificial elements.
Cristina Morbi’s research investigates the dynamic relationship between matter and its environment, focusing on the life span of design gestures. Her approach, termed "Design Phenology," uses time as a tool to explore landscapes as choreographed performances rather than static objects. "Landscape architecture is not a sequence of objects but a choreography of performances," reflecting her commitment to designs that embrace transformation and temporality.
Projects
- Kaleidosteeple - Kaleidoscope and Vegetal CathedralKaleidosteeple shapes an accessible observation device inspired by the central geometry of a kaleidoscope’s changing patterns and St Michael’s square iconic steeple. It is a visually attractive point in the square, a vertical element with the landmarking function of a steeple; its mirrored faces reflect Croydon’s multi-diverse human and urban landscape. An elegant modular white structure sustains the central kaleidoscope. While the light design and colours relate to the lightness of air and skyl
Projects credited in
- CADAVRE EXQUIS - Art Design Architecture SymposiumDescription In 1925, on a winter night in Paris, the Cadavre Exquis was born from the surrealist imagination of Andre Breton, Marcel du Champ, and Yves Tanguy. The term Exquisite Corpse refers to a collective assembly of images and words. It is an exercise in appropriation and applied creativity. It doesn’t tell the story of a single frame, but stratification of narratives, each unique and recognizable, overlapped in time. 5 Tables. 5 Talks. 25 Designers. We will re-live the Dadaist parlor exp
Work history
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DirectorMaetherea
London, United KingdomFull Time
STUDIO︎
Maetherea {Matter + Ethereal} is a multidisciplinary practice based in London, founded in 2018 and directed by Cristina Morbi and operating internationally at the intersection of Landscape Architecture and Public Art. Our studio combines time-based design with natural and artificial phenomena to create spaces that evolve over time. Our projects are guided by ecological principles, considering the relationships among all living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment.
We draw inspiration from a multidisciplinary perspective, merging rituals with perception and interactive installations triggered by nature. These rituals are developed through community engagement processes, manifesting as event and performances that foster deeper connections to the space. In this way, we create performative environments where the landscape acts as a theatre and nature plays the role of the actor. By proposing the fourth dimension of time as a crucial element in the public realm, we design time-based iconic structures and art installations that foster interaction between humans and nature, continuously adapting to new scenarios.
Our installations and Landscape architecture serve as ecological and phenological devices, becoming tools for exploring and engaging with the environment. We believe that urban spaces and public art should not be viewed as a series of isolated objects, but rather as a choreography of performances that intertwine sculptural perception with experiential design. In this way, we focus on the narrative: uncovering the story behind a place and discovering new and creative ways to celebrate it.
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Visiting ProfessorPolitecnico di Milano
ItalyPart Time
Adjunct, and Visiting Professor for the 1st and second year of Master of Science in Environmental Design at Politecnico di Milano. Lecturing and Tutoring project at the international course Landscape Design Studio. Visiting Professor and Senior Team of Research and Design at Thesis Incubator Studio,
Since 2017, Created together with Giovana Piccinno and Markus Jatsch of Martha Schwartz Partners the interdisciplinary Workshop Climate Performance, working on a SIde effect of Climate Change and Design opportunities in the Anthropocene era, with 150 students of the first year of Master in Design (Ephemeral, Landscape and New Interiors)
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Skills
- Design
- Research
- Enviromental Design
- Landscape Architecture
- Installation Design
Awards
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Selection for Innovative proposal Piscina MirabilisReuseItaly
Selection for Innovative Proposal and Exhibition in Piscine Mirabilis,Naples, Italy by ReauseItaly