Emmanouil Nikolaos Symiakakis is an architect and Ph.D. candidate at the School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens. His doctoral research explores the restoration of the subterranean Ilissos River in Athens as a hybrid cultural and ecological infrastructure, connecting historical topographies, landscape memory, and climate adaptation. He holds two Master’s degrees from NTUA: in Architecture Engineering and Monument Conservation. As an architectural designer, he has collaborated with acclaimed offices such as Petras Architecture, Tense Architecture Network, and Kizi Studio, contributing to award-winning projects in residential, cultural, and public space design. His work has received several prizes in international competitions, including 2nd Prize for the transformation of Sarlitza Palace in Lesvos into a thermal and cultural complex (2022). As a researcher, Emmanouil has worked under Professor Elena Konstantinidou on projects that led to strategic plans for historic and cultural landscapes in Greece, such as Souli, Monemvasia, Corfu, and Koronisia. These interdisciplinary projects address the protection and sustainability of monumental sites and natural environments.

He will begin his Fulbright research residency at the Inclusive Infrastructure Design Lab at the University of Southern California (USC), under Professor Alexander Robinson, focusing on the Los Angeles River and its parallels with buried streams in Athens. This phase emphasizes design methodology and flood management on dense urban fabric. He will then continue at Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture + Design, collaborating with Professor Jenn Engelke on ecological strategies for ephemeral rivers in Mediterranean cities, using the Ilissos as a case study. By bridging design research with field-based case studies, Emmanouil seeks to contribute new spatial tools and adaptive strategies for the reintegration of lost rivers into contemporary urban environment.