Charissa is a recent graduate from MA Architecture at the Royal College of Art where she explored socio-environmental conditions that shape livelihoods. 

During her first year, she studied under the film-led research studio Locument to produce a combined proposal and film which investigated the impacts of algae blooms in the Baltic Sea. The proposal was situated on the island of Gotland in Sweden and brought together a collection of active spaces, 'fluid follies', as a way to re-establish lost rituals on the island stripped away by the domineering algae blooms in the Baltic Sea. In second year, she was taught under the Turner Prize-nominated studio Cooking Sections, who produce site-responsive, research-driven installation projects. She investigated multi-dimensional environmental conditions to propose an adaptive tile-based framework to surround existing buildings in Murcia, Spain, protecting them from future dust storms. Engaging with atmospheres and material properties, she was able to design a structure composed of specifically shaped tiles that induce turbulence within the particulate clouds, protecting homes and livelihoods to live with the dust.