People

  • Amna is founding partner of UltraBarrio, an urban design and architecture practice with a central goal to shape cities to be more civic, sustainable, and generationally connected by design. Ansari’s intentional multidisciplinary background aligns architecture, urbanism, landscape, and technologies towards socially vibrant, equitable and enduring spaces. Her talks - 'Eco-Altitude', 'Covert Landscapes' and 'Flight, Flows and New Fields' anticipate the overlaps of public space with technology. Amna participated at the Aerial Futures think tank ‘The Next Frontier’ as a speaker and panelist speculating on the future of commercial space flight and its urban impacts among a select number of leaders in NASA and Houston Area Aviation.

    Amna received her Master’s in Architecture and Urbanism from MIT, and her method of actively processing a broad range of scenarios concerning urban strategies for the future has been recognized through exhibitions in Washington DC, Rome, Milan, and Boston. As a designer who has lived and worked in Shanghai, Vienna, Boston, and today Houston, her portfolio of architecture and planning projects has contributed to numerous AIA and ASLA design awards.

    Amna is currently Professor In the Practice at Rice School of Architecture. She has taught graduate and undergraduate architecture studios in Boston and Houston and looks forward to bringing her research into teaching.

  • Marcus is a Partner at Ultrabarrio where his experience in architecture and urbanism is dedicated to topics that foster resilient communities, repurposing infrastructure, and building types that relate to cycles of scarcity, surplus, and obsolescence.  

    His lens on these cycles were shaped as a collaborator focusing on mobility at the MIT Media Lab Changing Places group.  There he was responsible for prototyping folding vehicle chassis, incentivized business plans and technological platforms that retooled an urban fabric. These efforts translated into numerous urban core projects in Boston, including the 2024 Olympic Plan – smart city blueprint.  

    His MIT master’s thesis on urban infrastructure has been put into practice on 14 concepts and completed campus projects at the University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, and Prairie View A&M.  His work in established communities like the East End, Near Northside are immersed in culture, legacy, and site performance. He has been the recipient of numerous awards for his design efforts like the preservation award for the Ironworks in the East End, the repurposed Houston freeway – The Pierce Skypark, and recently state and local AIA awards for his design and engagement work in Gulfton.    

    Marcus received his master’s in architecture and urbanism from MIT and has been a thesis instructor at Boston Architectural College, held academic appointments at MIT, and today is a lecturer and studio instructor at the University Houston. He has been an invited critic at Rice University, Wentworth Institute, UBC SALA, and CU Denver.

  • Sara is a Houston native who brings a fresh perspective to community-based design, emphasizing ethical and resilient outcomes. With a background in architecture, planning, and community engagement, she approaches each project through a lens of thoughtful design and placemaking. Her work focuses on translating complex ideas into clear, accessible visuals that invite meaningful public input and guide implementable neighborhood improvements. Her process often incorporates model making as a tool for exploration, visualization, and dialogue—helping communities and stakeholders better engage with design ideas in tangible ways. Currently, Sara is working on the TIRZ 20 South West Civic Core community building in Gulfton/Southwest neighborhood of Houston.

  • Anna’s work engages the intersection of design, infrastructure, and public life, with a particular emphasis on Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) as a framework for shaping equitable, connected, and resilient communities. Anna’s work aims at enhancing community assets by leveraging connectivity and mobility, including work for METRO and Harris County Precinct 4. Her experience in TOD-related initiatives includes coordinating across agencies, integrating multimodal transportation strategies, and supporting development patterns that promote accessibility, density, and public realm improvements. During her time at Rice University, Anna received a travel fellowship to study architectural and infrastructural responses to unstable geologic and climatic conditions along Honshu, Japan’s eastern coast. This research continues to inform her approach to design, particularly in relation to risk, adaptation, and long-term environmental change. Anna also served as an adjunct professor of architecture at University of Houston’s College of Architecture and Design.

  • Moneeza is passionate about helping underserved communities through education and housing policy. She has consulted with Children at Risk and the New York City Department of Education to research schools and evaluate policies and programs aimed at serving children and families. While completing her Masters in Public Policy at NYU, she received the Education Pioneers Fellowship and was a research assistant at the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. Her work in the public sector has been informed by her corporate career where she worked in global corporate strategy at Visa and was a management consultant at Bain. Moneeza is a native Houstonian and magna cum laude graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

  • Abigail is a Houston native who is passionate about creating spaces that reflect the experiences, behaviors, and needs of the community. At UltraBarrio, she has worked on a variety of urban design projects that emphasize connectivity between communities through transit mobility studies, community engagement workshops, and Livable Center Studies. Whether shaping urban mobility systems or crafting public spaces, Abigail prioritizes in-depth contextual and urban analysis, ensuring that every project responds to resident needs and fosters meaningful connections between people and their environments.

    Abigail received her Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning.

Selected by MIT Alumni Association - Firm to Feature