Kasia Nawratek is a senior lecturer at Manchester School of Architecture, a qualified architect and a writer. Her current research interests are focused on the climate crisis response using post-human perspectives in the context of architectural education, and literary methods in architectural modes of investigation.

Kasia integrates literary methods into architectural discourse, encouraging students to examine spatial problems from diverse and often unexpected angles. Her teaching practice is inspired by Paul Ricoeur’s ideas on the linguistic roots of imagination and underpinned by Mikhail Bakhtin’s idea of polyphony which fosters an inclusive and dialogic studio culture. Kasia is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

She is currently BA3 Year Lead and the Some Kind of Nature Atelier Lead where she leads the M Arch 2 design studio. 

In the Some Kind of Nature atelier our primary focus is a response to the ongoing climate crisis, which we consider the greatest challenge facing both the profession and humanity. By embracing a post-humanist framework, we highlight relationships and decenter humans. This leads to a particular concern with the biodiversity crisis and the inclusion of non-human actors in our design process. We employ narrative and speculative design methods to test the boundaries of our imagination and question the present by projecting multiple versions of the future. Architecturally speaking, our atelier’s agenda translates into a strong focus on context, multi functionality, and an in-depth understanding of tangible expressions of human and non-human relationships expressed through space, materiality, technology, and time.

Kasia also leads a Research Methods workshop in M Arch using literary methods of investigation and creative writing.  

Before joining Manchester School of Architecture, Kasia led the Master of Architecture design studio at the Sheffield School of Architecture and Birmingham School of Architecture and Design, where she also led 2nd year undergraduate course. Before Birmingham, Kasia taught across undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Plymouth where she was also responsible for the International Design Foundation programme.

Alongside her academic career, Kasia is also a creative writer. Her children’s book Kresek, Bartek i całkiem zwyczajny początek won the Kornel Makuszyński Polish Nationwide Literary Award for 2017.

In 2024 Kasia won the Innovation in Architectural Education Award by the Standing Conference of Schools of Architecture (SCOSA). The award recognised Kasia’s impact on architectural education, and the scope and effectiveness of her innovations in pedagogy.