Dr. Isabel Ochoa Quintero

Biography

Isabel Ochoa Quintero is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. She is an educator and designer with a specialization in fabrication. Her creative practice explores the impacts of computational workflows and emerging technologies in ceramic fabrication and architectural production. Isabel's research examines ceramics as a medium, engaging with both traditional building methods and technological advancements. She has developed an extensive teaching portfolio that spans hands-on material exploration, digital fabrication, building systems, and architectural representation. Her pedagogical approach emphasizes design research, making, and prototyping at a 1:1 scale, reflecting her belief that material experimentation is central to architectural education. By foregrounding fabrication tool inquiry, she encourages her students to integrate conceptual design thinking with the practical realities of construction and material performance. Prior to joining SAPL, Isabel taught at the Cambridge and Rome campuses of the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture. Additionally, she is a co-founder of OCH Works, a design research collaborative that operates at the intersection of architecture, material computation, and fine craft. Her practice explores sustainable technologies and digital fabrication processes that hybridize traditional forms of making to produce materially responsive ceramic building systems. OCH Works has gained recognition from the International Masonry Institute, Ontario Craft, the Interior Design Show Canada, the Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Fund, and the Canada Council for the Arts for its innovative projects with artistic merit, with a notable record of publication and exhibition in national and international contexts.

Research Interests