ABOUT

Leilani Marsden is an architectural designer and researcher working at the intersection of material perception, user experience, and emerging technologies.

Her work explores how spatial and material systems influence emotional and cognitive responses, grounding these ideas in buildable, real-world applications.

  • She approachs design through a balance of research, intuition, and experimentation. Each project begins with understanding how people perceive, feel, and interact with space, and evolves into a spatial response grounded in both data and design.

  • Her work focuses on the intersection of material systems, user experience, and emerging technologies. She’sparticularly interested in how spatial and material conditions influence emotional and cognitive responses within the built environment.

  • She is driven by a curiosity for how architecture can move beyond function to engage with human emotion and perception. Through both research and practice, she explores how materials, technology, and spatial systems can shape meaningful and responsive environments.

She holds a Master of Science in Architecture, Built Environment Interiors from Politecnico di Milano and a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Architecture. Her graduate thesis, Material Empathy: The Feeling of Matter, explored how material archetypes shape human perception and emotional well-being through the integration of artificial intelligence, biometric data, and sensory analysis. Her work investigates how spatial and material systems influence cognitive and emotional responses, positioning architecture as both a physical and experiential medium.

Her experience spans interdisciplinary and international contexts, including her role as a Research Assistant at the Material Balance Research Lab in Milan, where she contributed to the development of emotional AI and biometric analysis systems. Her work involved prototyping experimental installations, developing visual research frameworks, and translating complex data into spatial design strategies.

She has also worked across design and technical environments, contributing to project documentation, material research, and visual communication within architectural practice. Her approach bridges research and application, with a focus on creating environments that are both technically grounded and experientially driven.

Based in the Bay Area working across ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, and RESEARCH.

SELECTED EXPERIENCE & CAPABILITIES

  • • InDesign

    • Photoshop

    • Illustrator

    • Midjourney

    • Runway

    • Revit

    • AutoCAD

    • SketchUp

    • Rhino

    • Enscape

    • MadMapper Facade Projections

  • • Design Thinking & Research Integration

    • Material - Driven Spatial Exploration

    • User-Centered Design Approach

    • Clear Visual Communication

    • Detail-Oriented Execution

  • POLITECNICO DI MILANO

    MSc. Architecture, Built Environment Interiors

    SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY

    BA. Interior Architecture

  • ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT

    Material Balance Lab

    Milan, Italy | 2024–2025

    MARKETING ASSISTANT

    MatriScope Engineering Laboratories

    Sacramento, CA | 2018–2021

    ARCHITECT INTERN

    ARCHITECTURAL DIMENSIONS

    Oakland, CA | 2017-2018

  • ACADEMY OF NEUROSCIENCE FOR ARCHITECTS (ANFA)

    European Chapter I 2024-Current

    AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (AIA)

    San Diego Chapter I 2024 - Current


    URBAN LAND INSTITUTE (ULI)

    European Chapter I 2024 - Current

    SDSD ARCHITECTURE CLUB

    Fundraising Chairman I SDSU I 2018 - 2020

“Leilani is an intuitive, observant, and resilient artist and designer. Through her work, she reveals what is hidden, forgotten, and overlooked.”
— Junichi Satoh, Director of IA Graduate Program