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Bio: 

Camila Mancilla, Ph.D. is a trained architect, artist, and scholar of architectural history and theory. Her work investigates architecture in states of transition: buildings in disuse, ephemeral structures, and sites facing demolition.  

Research/Creative Activity: 

Her work conceptualizes "the cut" as a primary act of architectural design and analysis. Her research proposes collage as a critical methodology to act upon existing structures. This framework generates new forms of adaptive reuse, which she defines through the displacement and reassembly of architectural fragments. Dr. Mancilla’s practice is a hybrid of scholarly research, built projects, and site-specific art installations, all of which bridge material heritage with advanced representational technologies.  Her doctoral dissertation formally codifies this strategy, analyzing the work of Gordon Matta-Clark to build a new theoretical framework for subtractive design.  Her creative activity challenges traditional ideas of permanence by focusing on time, memory, and ephemeral architectures. This work is disseminated through two parallel tracks: (1) Scholarly publications in architectural history and theory ; and (2) Artistic practice, through international, site-specific installations and mixed-media collages. This hybrid practice connects deep historical research with tangible, critical making and has received international recognition, featured in major publications such as ArtDaily, ArchDaily, and Kolaj Magazine.  

Teaching: 

Mancilla's pedagogy is rooted in research-through-making. She teaches design studios and history/theory seminars focused on critical representation, collage, and transdisciplinary methods. Her courses challenge students to engage to cultural heritage, material displacement, and ephemeral design, drawing on her research and professional practice.  

Practice: 

Mancilla leads an independent architectural practice focused on built projects and cultural installations. Her work spans residential design, temporary and ephemeral architecture, public facing design, interior renovations, and exhibit design. Her practice is a direct extension of her research, often intervening in buildings in disuse or creating new forms from displaced vernacular components. She has collaborated with renowned Chilean architects, including National Architecture Award recipient Edward Rojas and Cazú Zegers.  

Publications (Selected): 

View all at: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5083-340X  

Mancilla Vera, C. SCISSION: The Architectural Collage and Gordon Matta-Clark's Circus or The Caribbean Orange. PhD Dissertation, Virginia Tech, 2024. Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119123

Associate Editor & Curator. Finishing in Architecture: Polishing, Completing, Ending. New York: Routledge, 2025. DOI: 10.4324/9781032722481 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032722481Taylor & Francis

Mancilla Vera, C. “Sharp Shadows: Cutting an Architectural Treatise.” In Finishing in Architecture, ed. Paul Emmons, et al. New York: Routledge, 2026. DOI: 10.4324/9781032722481-7

Mancilla Vera, C. “The End: Matta-Clark’s South American Cut.” In (Un)Common Precedents in Architectural Design, ed. Federica Goffi, et al. New York: Routledge https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032722481-7

Silva Poblete, K., Olivares Toledo, J. C., & Mancilla Vera, C. Las arquitecturas de la garúa: aprendiendo a valorizar la arquitectura de las iglesias de Chiloé. (Vol. I and II). Ediciones Universidad Autónoma de Chile, 2023. DOI: 10.32457/ua.125  and DOI: 10.32457/ua.87