Fixed-term assistant professor
Department of Architecture and Design (DAD)
Profile
Research interests
Biography
I am an architectural historian who specializes in the relationship between building materials, society, and culture in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe. I work as an Assistant Professor in architectural history at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy. I am author of "Icelandic Farmhouses: Identity, Landscape and Construction (1790-1945)" (Firenze University Press, 2023) and of "The Icelandic Concrete Saga: Architecture and Construction (1847–1958)" (JOVIS Verlag, 2024). I am also author of the CCA Single "Is there a known optimum gate size for the dual control of cattle and sheep?" (Canadian Centre for Architecture, 2025). I am a member of the editorial boards of "Architectural Histories" and of "Studi e ricerche di storia dell’architettura". Since 2022, I have been working on the architectural history of intensive animal farming. My research was supported by the Canadian Centre for Architecture (2023) and by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (2024).
Scientific branch
(Area 0008 - Civil engineering and architecture)
Research topics
- Architectural and construction histories in Iceland and Northern Europe, 1800s-1900s
- Architecture in Italy during the Fascist regime and its reception since 1945
- The Mechanization of Life: An Architectural History of Intensive Animal Farming Ongoing research project, 1800s-1900s
Skills
ERC sectors
SDG
Open badges
-
Learning to Teach (L2T)
Issued by Politecnico di Torino on 06-06-2024
Fellowships
- Fellow - Canadian Centre for Architecture, Canada (2023)
Research fellow - Fellow - Icelandic Concrete Association | Steinsteypufélag Íslands, Islanda (2021-)
Membro onorario - Fellow - Construction History Group, Politecnico di Torino, Italia (2020-)
Membro
Editorial boards
- STUDI E RICERCHE DI STORIA DELL'ARCHITETTURA (2024-), Editorial board member
- ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIES (2023-), Editorial board member
- HISTORIES OF POSTWAR ARCHITECTURE (2017-2021), Editorial board member
- IN BO (2015-2024), Editorial board member
Teaching
Collegi of the degree programmes
- Collegio di Architettura e Design. Componente
Teachings
PhD
- Progettare con/per non-umani: storie, narrazioni, sfide. A.A. 2024/25, ARCHITETTURA. STORIA E PROGETTO. Main teacher
- Environmental Histories of Architecture. A.A. 2023/24, ARCHITETTURA. STORIA E PROGETTO. Teaching assistant
Master of Science
- Environmental History of Architecture. A.A. 2024/25, ARCHITETTURA PER LA SOSTENIBILITA'. Collaboratore del corso
- Environmental History of Architecture. A.A. 2023/24, ARCHITETTURA PER LA SOSTENIBILITA'. Collaboratore del corso
Bachelor of Science
- Lab di Storia per i sistemi alimentari (modulo di Storia dell'architettura e del design). A.A. 2025/26, DESIGN SOSTENIBILE PER IL SISTEMA ALIMENTARE. Collaboratore del corso
- Keywords design (modulo di Storia e Teoria del Progetto). A.A. 2025/26, DESIGN E COMUNICAZIONE. Titolare del corso
- Lab di Storia per i sistemi alimentari (modulo di Storia dell'architettura e del design). A.A. 2024/25, DESIGN SOSTENIBILE PER IL SISTEMA ALIMENTARE. Collaboratore del corso
- Keywords design (modulo di Storia e Teoria del Progetto). A.A. 2024/25, DESIGN E COMUNICAZIONE. Titolare del corso
- Keywords design (modulo di Storia e Teoria del Progetto). A.A. 2023/24, DESIGN E COMUNICAZIONE. Titolare del corso
Other activities and projects related to teaching
I'll be happy to discuss proposals for BA/MA dissertations on:
• histories of architecture and construction (1800s-1900s)
• history of industrial design
• historical and contemporary exchanges between architecture and non-human actors, specifically on animal farming
Office hours: by appointment, please send me an email .
Research
Research fields
Centres
Supervised PhD students
- Eugenio Lux. Programme in Architettura. Storia E Progetto (40th cycle, 2024-in progress)
Research subject: Architecture and politics in Social Democratic Sweden of folkhemmet (1932-1976)
History of Architecture History of Architecture
Publications
Latest publications View all publications in Porto@Iris
- Nannini, Sofia (2025)
Is there a known optimum gate size for the dual control of cattle and sheep?. Montréal, Canadian Centre for Architecture, P. 64. ISBN: 978-1-927071-95-3
Libro - Nannini, Sofia; Cosimini, Silvia (2025)
«Il mostro di cemento a fauci spalancate». Halldór Laxness e l’impatto della steinsteypa nelle campagne islandesi. In: ANNALI DI CA' FOSCARI. SERIE OCCIDENTALE, vol. 58, pp. 153-169. ISSN 2499-2232
Contributo su Rivista - Nannini, Sofia (2025)
Come si scrive una saga: leggere, tradurre, cercare. In: Un viaggio nell’Italia della ricerca. Strumenti e metodi di indagine delle scuole di dottorato in storia dell’architettura / Alici A., Ghia M. C., Palermo, Edizioni Caracol, pp. 32-37. ISBN: 979-12-81816-15-2
Contributo in Volume - Nannini, Sofia; Antonucci, Micaela (2024)
Le "città delle colonie" sulla costa romagnola nel secondo dopoguerra: tra eredità fascista e ricostruzione. In: Città che si adattano? Adaptive Cities? / Devoti C., Bolca P., Tamborrino R., Torino, AISU international, pp. 844-855. ISBN: 978-88-31277-09-9
Contributo in Volume - Nannini, Sofia (2024)
Towards a Swedish Concrete Industry: The Role of Aktiebolaget Skånska Cementgjuteriet (1887-1941). In: Produrre per costruire / Barelli M. L., Volpiano M., Torino, Politecnico di Torino, pp. 363-374. ISBN: 979-12-81583-06-1
Contributo in Volume