Mark Shtanov

I study disposal infrastructures using architectural methods, such as drawings and physical models. My PhD research used four drawing modalities to examine the disposal of imported anatomical specimens at the British waste incinerators. Bridging between waste and death studies, the project demonstrated the importance of waste labour and infrastructure for the global economies of human tissue and healthcare.

As an advocate of multi-modal ethnographic and design methods, I co-organise regular Manchester-based ‘Draw Your Research’ sessions to help researchers use drawings in a range of ways. I also run design workshops through no.balsa, an independent practice I established in 2017 to help students, architects and members of the public think through making. These workshops have been delivered across ten institutions, inlcuding the Manchester School of Architecture and the Universities of Westminster, Cambridge, Bath Spa, Liverpool and Sheffield, as well as internationally.

Between 2018 and 2024 I progressed from an assistant to a senior architect at TP Bennett, designing buildings in education, hospitality, and residential sectors, alongside doing the PhD. I completed my MPhil at the University of Cambridge in 2018. The MPhil thesis, Another Hotel in Africa, received a commendation at the RIBA President's Medals in 2018 and led to two publications.