Adriana Ross
Adjunct Professor
Adriana Ross is an adjunct professor at the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism, where she has taught design studio and courses in architectural representation for over fourteen years. Her teaching approaches drawing as a form of inquiry — a way of thinking through architecture that connects perception, memory, and imagination.
Working across drawing, multimedia, and spatial interpretation, she encourages students to understand representation not as illustration, but as a critical act through which ideas are discovered and tested. Her courses bring together students from diverse disciplines, fostering careful observation, material sensitivity, and conceptual clarity. She has also taught at Algonquin College and was recognized by students as a Favourite Faculty member in 2021–2022.
Adriana’s research and creative practice examine the relationship between historical meaning and contemporary architectural production. Her award-winning work has been exhibited and published internationally, and she is co-author, with Marco Frascari, of Drawing in the Silence (2012). Her ongoing investigations into ecclesiastical architecture explore how drawing can reveal new readings and future possibilities for historic spaces.
She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from Carleton University, where she received numerous distinctions, including the RAIC Student Medal.
Research
Goffi, Federica and Ross, Adriana, 2018 NCBDS Conference, Cincinnati, USA. “Transmedial Time Constructs” read and published by Journals@UC – University of Cincinnati.
Ross, Adriana. “Comatose and Ricorso, An Ecclesial Exploration”, The Future of Churches Conference, Bologna, Italy, 2016, paper read and published.
Practice
Private Practice – ADesign, Ottawa, ON
1998-2003 – Senior Designer, Susan Firestone Design, Ottawa, ON
For more information, visit: www.adrianaross.com
Education
Master of Architecture – Carleton University (with high distinction)
Bachelor of Architecture – Carleton University
Courses
ARCS 2105 – BAS – Studio 2
ARCS 5104 – M.Arch 1- Studio 3
ARCS 1005 – BAS – An Introduction to Drawing
ARCS 2106 – BAS – Studio 3
ARCN 2106 – BAS – Introduction to Multimedia
ARCN 5005 – M.Arch 1 -Theory and Practice of Architectural Representation
STUDIO FIRST – Post-Baccalaureate Program
ARCS 1105 – BAS – Studio 1
ARCU 3902A – BAS – Workshop in Urban Studies and Heritage Conservation
ARCN 1005 – An Introduction to Drawing: Seeing through the Hand