Ria Bravo

Ria Bravo is a tenure-track assistant professor of interior design at the UT School of Architecture. She is an interior and architectural designer with experience in academia and at world-renowned architecture firms, Gensler and Morphosis Architects. Her research interests are rooted in the space between interiors and architecture, questioning the boundaries, spaces, and politics that define these territories.

A Nashville native, Ria completed her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and Master of Architecture degrees at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. During her time at UTK, she served as a graduate research assistant for the Institute for Smart Structures led by Professor James Rose, where she partnered with Local Motors, a 3D printing car company, to expand the capabilities of their large-scale 3D printer. The culmination of this research included a 40’ 3D-printed sculpture put on display at their manufacturing facility and was featured at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, titled Form, Function, Disruption.

Her Master of Architecture thesis, Fascia Domestica, focused on blurring the distinction between furniture, interiors, and architecture. Continuing this trajectory, her agenda as a practitioner and educator aims to challenge these divisions and give agency to the interior. Before joining the University of Texas at Austin, Ria taught second and third-year interior architecture studio courses for the University of Tennessee. Ria has developed a distinct educational agenda that challenges students to create design interventions that dissolve the boundaries between interiors and architecture.