Sandro Carella

Teaching Philosophy

The reasons for making a drawing are three. The first is the making of a plan - drawing something before it is built saves time and money. It permits staged development, with easy revisions and alterations, before construction or realization in some other medium. This is useful not only to the architect, but also to the artist who uses a study to organize, research and experiment with layout, linear and tonal components, or otherwise developing a visual idea.

A second reason to draw is as a means to interrogate nature or site, to study it intently, look at it frequently, closely and carefully. To understand is to remember.

A third reason to create a drawing is simply to make a poetic statement complete and unto itself. Straight lines, drawn for their own sake are first rehearsed by drawing a bow across a cello. They become progressively more and more displaced, at first creating a two-dimensional pattern, but later revealing a very three-dimensional look - a result of the student's own invention.

The ability to draw by hand is indispensable in apprehending three-dimensional space. I instill in students the capacity to conserve dimensions, not in feet or inches, but in dimensional ratios, namely how big or wide or high one thing is in respect to another established metric, the human body, extant site features, all in the same momentary visual context.

Time has shown that one never stops being both artist and apprentice - as an architect, I always learn from builders, as an instructor, from my students.

Education

• MArch, Wentworth Institute of Technology
• AB, Harvard College, Economics, Visual and Environmental Studies 

Recent Professional Highlights

• 130 Dorchester Street, S. Boston, MA, Architect of Record, 250,041 SQFT, Multi-family project. (existing condition survey August 2024, currently under schematic design)
• 2 H Street Passive House, S. Boston, MA, Architect of Record, 133,238 SQFT, 127 Dwelling Units and Retail, Multi-family project. (currently under construction, exp. Spring 2026)
• 181-185 W. 1st Street, Boston, MA, Consulting Architect, 156,426 SQFT, 149 residential dwelling units, Sustainibility, Energy and Passive House, (energy and solar impact study, currently under design development, )
• Condominium Record Drawings: 201 West Brookline Street, South End, Boston, 2018
• Mamma Maria Restaurant Occupancy Load Analysis: North End, Boston, 2017
• Faye Chandler Emerging Artist: Boston City Hall, October 2016
• Wild Duck Wine and Spirits: 660 Washington Street, Chinatown, 2015
• City of Boston Arts Commission, Finalist: Sicilian Fisherman's Tribute on Long Wharf, 2013

Professional Affiliations

• Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA)
• Certification, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)
• LEED Accredited Professional, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, 2024
• Certified Passive House Consultant, CPHC, Passive House Institute United States, PHIUS, 2022