Dean and Professor
School of Architecture and Design | New York Institute of Technology | maria.perbellini@nyit.edu
Maria Perbellini is the Dean of the School of Architecture and Design at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) and a tenured Professor of Architecture.
Before joining NYIT, Perbellini held key academic leadership roles at Texas Tech University (TTU), where she served as Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Chair of Instruction in the College of Architecture. She has also taught at the University of Texas at Austin and served as a visiting faculty member at Yeungjin Junior College in Taegu, South Korea.
Perbellini is the co-founder of Pongratz Perbellini Architects, an internationally recognized, multidisciplinary design practice. The atelier operates across a spectrum of award-winning built projects, international competitions, design research, computational studies, and advanced material-based fabrication technologies. Prior to establishing her own firm, she worked in New York City for Peter Eisenman and John Reimnitz on prestigious commissioned projects and high-profile design competitions. Pongratz Perbellini Architects received the Segnalazione Premio Compasso d’Oro ADI (XXI Edition) for their patented stone series Hyperwave, which is also included in the Material Connexion archive in New York.
Her contributions to architectural education and practice have been recognized with numerous honors, including the AIA Long Island Educator Award, the Integrated Scholar Award from TTU’s Office of the Provost, the TTU Outstanding Researcher Award, the Alumni Association New Faculty Award, and the Global Vision Award.
Perbellini has held curatorial and advisory roles at the Venice Architecture Biennale, serving on the Advisory Board of the Italian Pavilion (2021), co-curating the section Architecture as a Caregiver, acting as Creative Director for the Virtual Italian Pavilion, and curating the collateral event Students as Researchers (2023). She is a member of the NYC Architecture Biennial Advisory Board, the NYCxDesign Steering Committee, the AIA NY Design Awards Committee, and served on the AIA NY Board of Directors as the 2024 Public Director for Educational Affairs.
Her scholarly work includes co-editing Peter Eisenman: Monograph for Korean Architects-KA (No.156, 1997) and Heliopolis 21 (Skira, 2021), as well as co-authoring Natural Born CaaDesigners (Birkhäuser, 2000), Cyberstone (Edilstampa, 2009), Digital Media for Design (Cognella, 2016), and Resilient Communities and the Peccioli Charter (Springer, 2021).
She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia in Italy and a Master of Architecture from Pratt Institute in New York. She also completed the Harvard Management Development Program in Higher Education Leadership.