The Domestic Surround | Felipe Correa

The Domestic Surround

Beyond the singular dwelling, domestic space is a much more complex environment that actively shapes how we live collectively. Through design commissions and applied research projects, Correa argues for an expanded notion of domesticity and urban life. This notion extends beyond the private interior, treating domesticity as a structuring agent across housing typologies, urban blocks, and the infrastructural and territorial systems within which they sit. From a vision plan for the recently implemented metro in Quito, to a riverfront strategy in Manaus, to a recent survey on housing design, these projects converge on a "domestic surround" that positions an expanded understanding of housing design as the central urban and cultural project of the 21st century city.

About Felipe Correa 

Managing Partner, Somatic Collaborative Senior Advisor for Urban Strategy, Aspen Institute  

Senior Advisor for Urban Strategy, Aspen Institute

Through Somatic Collaborative, Correa has directed a wide range of applied research and design projects in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Correa’s work focuses on the design and transformation of cities and urban areas. From the conceptualization of urban regeneration projects to the planning of new city extensions, Correa’s work sits at the intersection of design, policy, and economic development. Correa serves as a Senior Advisor for Urban Strategy at the Aspen Institute. He is currently collaborating with the Aspen Institute Science & Society Program to develop new research and public engagement initiatives exploring how urban design, scientific evidence, and civic decision-making intersect. He was the Vincent and Eleanor Shea Professor at the University of Virginia (UVA), where he served as chair of the Department of Architecture from 2018-2022. Prior to joining UVA, Correa was Associate Professor and Director of the Urban Design Degree Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD). He is the author of multiple books including “Beyond the City: Resource Extraction Urbanism in South America (University of Texas Press, 2016), “Mexico City: Between Geometry and Geography “(Applied Research and Design Publishing, 2015) and “A Line in the Andes” (Applied Research and Design Publishing 2014) which won first prize at the Pan American Architecture Biennale. His most recent book, “Sao Paulo: A Graphic Biography” a bilingual edition that traces the history of the city’s urban form was released in 2018 by the University of Texas Press. His forthcoming book focuses on the Amazon River Basin and the evolution of urban form. In addition, he has lectured and exhibited at many universities and conferences, including Cornell University, Columbia University, Tulane University, University of Pennsylvania, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, The National Arts Club, and the Pan-American Architecture Biennale, among others. His work, research, and writings have been published in journals, including Architectural Design, Architectural Record, Harvard Design Magazine Topos and Volume.

Follow Felipe Correa on social media: Instagram: @felipecorrea_SC and @somatic_collaborative