Professor Ana Rute Costa

Professor of Sustainable Architecture

Profile

Ana Rute Costa is an architect, Passivhaus designer, educator, and researcher with extensive experience in professional practice and architectural education. She studied Architecture in Porto and has worked both independently and within architectural practices, delivering projects for public and private clients across a range of scales, sectors, and environmental contexts.

Her professional work has received international recognition, including nominations and awards associated with the Mies van der Rohe Award and the ECOLA Award. Throughout her career, she has led, managed, and coordinated architectural projects from concept through to delivery, with a particular interest in the relationship between people, place, and the built environment. She believes architecture has the potential to enhance quality of life by creating meaningful connections between body, mind, and space.

Ana is passionate about fostering creativity, critical thinking, and environmental responsibility in future architects. Her teaching encourages students to become confident, resilient, and reflective professionals capable of addressing complex societal and environmental challenges through design.

Her current research focuses on circular construction, particularly material reuse, material passports, and end-of-life of construction materials and solar assets. She is also interested in the design of learning environments and explores how architecture can enhance teaching, learning, wellbeing, and engagement.

Ana is committed to advancing sustainable architectural practice and education, integrating research, teaching, and professional experience to support the transition towards a more regenerative and circular built environment.

Outside academia, she enjoys spending time with her family, cycling, running, rowing, sewing, baking, and illustration. As both an architect and educator, she views the world as a shared home and believes that collective action and thoughtful design can contribute to a more sustainable and equitable future.

Research Overview

I am an educator, researcher, chartered architect and certified Passivhaus Designer, fostering the creation of dynamic links and knowledge exchange between academia and industry. My research focuses on accelerating material reuse in construction, reducing whole life carbon and enabling a circular economy. Complementary, I am an expert on teaching and learning spaces, with several projects, consultancy and publications developed in the area.

Research Interests

I am interested in understanding how architecture can respond to current societal and environmental challenges and take users perspectives into consideration. My research focus lies on enabling a circular economy in the construction sector through materials reuse, material passports and end-of-life mitigation strategies.

I am also an educational researcher with a strong specialism in Learning and Teaching spaces. My research focuses on analysing the impact of the built environment in teaching and learning through ethnographic and visual research methods. I am interested in research how architecture and design can foster better learning and teaching spaces and improve learning outcomes.

Current Teaching

As Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Architecture I oversee the course delivery and I ensure content consistency across different modules and years. I am the year three leader, I convene the year 3 Architectural Design modules and Architectural Humanities in the MArch. Complementary, I lead the Architecture Summer School, a full week of workshops, activities delivered by the end of the academic year. This is a great opportunity to bring everyone together, promote peer learning opportunities and have fun! I am also the coordinator of the TEA talks, a series of informal talks from our School of Architecture on the theme of Technology, the Environment, and the role of Architecture, now and in the future. You can watch the previous talks on our YouTube channel.

Current Research

In 2024, I have co-authored the Materials Passports: Accelerating Material Reuse in Construction policy paper. The purpose of this paper is to enable the widespread adoption of materials passports to support a circular economy. We provide a suit of guidance and templates to facilitate the immediate and comprehensive adoption of materials passporting across Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. Following this work, I am currently involved on a series of research projects to implement material passports at different contexts and scales and analyse how to improve current practices.

As a specialist in Teaching and Learning Environments, I published an edited book with Professor Rachel Cooper about Design for Education for Routledge and several publications about home and school learning environments.

External Roles

Honorary PGR Supervisor - University of Liverpool

BAMBRU: DICE+: Buildings as Materials Banks to be ReUsed
01/09/2026 → 28/02/2027
Research
IAA: End of Renewable Asset Life Decisions II
11/10/2024 → 10/10/2025
Research
IAA: End of Renewable Asset Life Decisions II (ERALD - II)
10/09/2024 → 30/09/2025
Research
E3: End of Renewable Asset Life Decisions (ERALD)
10/05/2024 → 30/11/2024
Research
Interdisciplinary Catalyst Funding - Innovative Laser Additive Manufacturing for Salvaged Construction Parts Repair
01/02/2024 → 31/07/2024
Research
MBC Curriculum Co-Design Project
02/10/2023 → 31/07/2024
Research
IAA | Building a Circular Future: Accelerate Material Re-Use in Construction
01/08/2023 → 31/07/2024
Research
Material Passports Data
01/04/2023 → 31/07/2023
Research
Accelerating Material Re-Use in Construction (AMRUC)
30/01/2023 → 29/01/2024
Research
TEA Talks | Festival of Social Sciences | ESRC
01/09/2022 → 30/11/2022
Research
IAA - AHRC Impact Acceleration Account
01/04/2022 → 31/03/2027
Research
Architecture and Global Issues
01/08/2021 → 30/06/2022
Other
Spaces and Tools for learning during Covid-19 Pandemic
01/09/2020 → 01/10/2021
Research
Consultancy in Learning and Teaching Spaces
01/09/2018 → 31/07/2019
Consultancy
Accelerating Material Re-Use in Construction
01/01/1900 → …
Research
End of Renewable Asset Life Decisions
01/01/1900 → …
Research
End of Renewable Asset Life Decisions
01/01/1900 → …
Research

TEA Talks
Symposium

AECB Annual Conference | Fabric Matters
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

ERALD II - White Paper and Industry roadmap for a Brighter Solar Industry
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Sustainable Photovoltaic Industry
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

AFTER SHOW | end of year showcase of the work of Architecture at Lancaster School of Arts
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

Students TEA talks 2026
Participation in conference - Public

St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School
School Engagement

Lancaster School of Architecture Summer School
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

Architecture Commons
Types of Business and Community - Hosting of external, non-academic visitor

PhD Examination
Examination

Materials Passports Working Group
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Passivhaus Trust (External organisation)
Membership of network

PhD Examination
Examination

Architecture for Children
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

Tea Talks: Architecture and AI
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

ARCH301 Architecture student field trip to Lancaster, Canal Quarter
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

Solar & Storage Live UK 2025
Participation in conference - Business/Professional

Materials Passports | School of Specification
Business Course/Training

Solar Energy UK - Utility Scale Forum
Participation in conference - Public

Building Smarter: Cutting Carbon with Digital Material Passports
Invited talk

Students TEA Talks 2025
Participation in conference - Public

St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School
School Engagement

Barrow-in-Furness Architecture staff field trip
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

Walney Island Nature Reserve field trip
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

Solar Energy UK - Utility Scale Forum 2025
Participation in conference - Business/Professional

Materials Passports: buildings as treasures
Invited talk

Mais do que casas: Starbursting
Participation in conference - Public

Iceboxchallenge Asuncion, Paraguay 2025 (Event)
Membership of committee

TEA Talks | Design for Education
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

What Learning Spaces do we need?
Expert Opinion

BSI Committee Member
Influence on Policy, Practice, Patients & the Public

Committee member of European Committee for Standardisation
Influence on Policy, Practice, Patients & the Public

Estates Committee (Event)
Membership of committee

PhD Examinations
Examination

Webinar | Materials Passports Policy Paper
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar

End of of Renewable Asset Life
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

RECONMATIC Open Day
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

Campus in the City 2024
Festival/Exhibition/Concert

Economia Circular
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

Architecture field trip to Windermere, Skelwith Bridge, Elterwater Quarry and Merz Barn, Lake District.
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

Imagination Now & Next at the Festival of Futures
Symposium

The future is a work in progress Exhibition at the Festival of Futures
Festival/Exhibition/Concert

Reuse Now Webinar: Material Passports
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar

TEA talks
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

How to Educate Architecture Students to Tackle Climate Emergency?
Invited talk

Future Observatory: Low Carbon Housing round table
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

AI Futures
Symposium

Material Reuse in Home Retrofit
Invited talk

Material Passports Data
Participation in conference - Business/Professional

Edge Education Review
Expert Opinion

Towards an Architectural Theory for Sustainability
Participation in conference - Academic

ARCHI Extra Architecture Degree Show 2023
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

FOOTPRINT Plus
Participation in conference - Business/Professional

Student TEA talks
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

TEA Talks
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

ARCH301 Field trip to Fell Foot (National Trust) Newby Bridge, Windermere
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School
School Engagement

Lancaster and Morecambe College
School Engagement

TEA Talks
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Architecture Inspired by Nature
Invited talk

Lancaster COP26 Festival
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

TEA talks
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Entangled Festival | Ensemble Project
Festival/Exhibition/Concert

Best Tutor to Cry to (2021/22)
Prize (including medals and awards)

World Architecture Day | Poster Competition Winner 2018
Prize (including medals and awards)

Nominated by RIBA, UK for the UIA Global Cubes Awards 2020
Prize (including medals and awards)

FASS Dean Award 2022: Outstanding Contribution to Student Recruitment, Lancaster University
Prize (including medals and awards)

Best Tutor to Cry to (2022/23)
Prize (including medals and awards)

Walaa Aljehani

PhD student

Imagination Lancaster

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Energy Lancaster
Evaluation
Imagination Lancaster
Morecambe Bay Curriculum
School of Architecture
Space & Place