Matilda Terolli
New York City
Albania
Matilda Terolli explores the mediums of everyday life through tools and methods of sorting, collecting, and documenting. This website reflects that process through overlapping systems of video, photo, drawing, digital processing and a continuous stream of layered material.
Her recent project(s), show that same method of:
- sorting
- collecting
- documenting
She is currently working on:
waste la(nd)b.
web design
DUMPSTR
app design
Circula
app design
Last year:
From the William Kinne Fellows Traveling Prize, she worked on collecting waste artifacts in Albania:
Residual Futures
A Fieldwork of Waste in Albania explores how waste functions as both environmental crisis and cultural archive, using methods such as film, photography, drawing, drone footage, material tracing and thermal imaging to capture fragments from each individual device (image, video, cameras, scanning).
Residual Futures
waste la(nd)b.
"This is where I try to understand waste."
↗ Waste as Land: Fragments from Tuvalu, 2025
plastic shores.
A short film traveling through the island of Tuvalu with classmates from Columbia University GSAPP. Looking at Tuvalu through its waste system — traveling with the waste management team, crossing a burning landfill, going to islands. This film brings to the surface what doesn't want to be seen.
media forthcoming
object(s).
06. Architecture Desk Prototype
Rethinking the architecture studio through a movable, adaptable workspace.
portfolio index
Columbia University
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
M.S. Advanced Architectural Design (M.S.AAD)
2024–2025
- Gutscapes Gazette 2024–25
- Domestic Atmospheres 2024–25
- Plastic Shores 2024–25
University of Michigan
A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
B.S. Architecture
2018–2020
- Rooms in Motion 2018
- Pharmakon Field 2019
- Removeable Moveable 2020
Oakland Community College
Associate Degree
2015–2018
DUMPSTR.
We finish a coffee.
↓
Toss the cup.
↓
Open a package.
↓
Break down the box.
↓
Make pasta.
↓
Throw away the glass jar.
↓
Toss the cup.
↓
Open a package.
↓
Break down the box.
↓
Make pasta.
↓
Throw away the glass jar.
Every day, without thinking.
DUMPSTR is for the moment just before you throw something away, the two seconds where you could ask: does this have to end here?
Photograph it. Log it. Find out what it could still become — a local drop-off, a reuse idea, someone nearby who needs exactly that material.
Not a recycling app. Not a guilt trip. A pause before the landfill.
For anyone living in a city full of things being thrown away.
In development · 2026
Circula.
Circula keeps things in circulation.
You hold an item, care for it, and pass it on.
Nothing ends. Everything moves.
You hold an item, care for it, and pass it on.
Nothing ends. Everything moves.
In development · 2026
document(s).
- 2026
- 2025
object(s).
01.
Mushroom Lamp
Bowl and vase assembled around a puck light, spray-finished in changing colors.
height34 cm
diameter22 cm
materialsceramic bowl, glass vase, puck LED, spray lacquer
finishvariable — rotated seasonally
year2025
elevation · plan · section — drawings tba
02.
Pink Table
Hand-cut tabletop paired with cylindrical legs and finished in a soft pink surface.
height72 cm
top60 × 45 cm
materialsMDF tabletop, PVC cylindrical legs, chalk paint
finishmatte blush pink, sealed
year2025
elevation · plan · section — drawings tba
03.
Wavy Table
Hand-cut birch plywood top shaped into a continuous curve, supported by three PVC pipe legs.
Collaboration w/ R. Tarabah
height68 cm
topapprox. 90 × 40 cm (irregular wave profile)
materials18 mm birch plywood, 3 × PVC pipe legs, wood glue, sanding sealer
finishraw birch, lightly sanded
year2025
elevation · plan · section — drawings tba
04.
Wall Divider
Hand-built wood frame with individually spaced vertical slats, designed as a lightweight room divider.
Collaboration w/ R. Tarabah
height180 cm
width90 cm
depth4 cm
materialspine lumber frame, 12 mm dowel slats, wood screws
finishnatural pine, unfinished
year2025
elevation · plan · section — drawings tba
05.
Ripple Mirror
Round mirror framed by a hand-formed clay ripple, shaped, baked, and painted purple.
diameter38 cm overall / 26 cm mirror face
depth3.5 cm at ripple peak
materialsair-dry clay, round mirror, acrylic paint, hanging hardware
finishmatte purple, hand-painted
year2025
elevation · plan · section — drawings tba
06.
Architecture Desk Prototype
Rethinking the architecture studio through a movable, adaptable workspace.
Collaboration w/ R. Tarabah
height76 cm (adjustable +12 cm)
surface120 × 60 cm
weight18 kg
materialswelded steel frame, Baltic birch surface, casters, wing-nut fasteners
featurestool rail, fold-down side shelf, lockable wheels
year2025 — prototype
elevation · plan · section — drawings tba
work(s).
- Columbia University GSAPP — Associate Faculty Jan–May 2026
- waste la(nd)b. — Founder, Researcher Sep 2025–
- Float Studio — Architectural Design Intern Jan–May 2025
- Champion Home Builders — Associate Architect May 2021–May 2024
- Champion Home Builders — Project Architect Intern Jun 2017–Aug 2019
archive(s).
-
2025
Waste as Land: Fragments from TuvaluFilm · Kinne Fellowship documentation
-
2025
Plastic Shores — Chapter I–IVResearch archive · tidal sorting, shoreline documentation
-
2024
Gutscapes GazettePublication · landfill landscapes as urban commons
-
2024
Residual FuturesFieldwork · Albania waste artifacts, Kinne Prize
-
2020
Removeable MoveableThesis · University of Michigan
Architectural Background
Columbia University
M.S. Advanced Architectural Design
M.S.AAD · 2024–2025
University of Michigan
Bachelor of Science in Architecture
2018–2020
OCC
Associate's Degree in Architecture
2015–2018
Applied Work
Columbia University GSAPP
Associate Faculty
Jan 2026 – May 2026
waste la(nd)b.
Founder, Researcher
Sep 2025 – present
Float Studio
Architectural Design Intern
Jan 2025 – May 2025
Champion Home Builders
Associate Architect
May 2021 – May 2024
↓
Champion Home Builders
Project Architect Intern
Jun 2017 – Aug 2019
Techniques + Tools
Architecture Techniques
Revit
Rhino
AutoCAD
Sketchup
D5
Marketing Tools
GoDaddy
WooCommerce
Google Ads
Facebook Meta
Adobe Creative Cloud
Pr
Ai
Id
Ps
Web Techniques
HTML
CSS
Currently exploring
Weavy AI
Claude Code + Claude Design
Awards
William Kinne Fellows Traveling Prize
Residual Futures: A Fieldwork of Waste in Albania