Ipsita Datta’s research explores the intersection of architecture, living systems, and digital fabrication. Her work investigates how biologically active materials—such as mycelium—can be integrated with construction and agricultural waste to form responsive, regenerative systems. Using robotic additive manufacturing (RAM), she develops methods to prototype structural elements that evolve through processes of growth, decay, and adaptation. Positioned within the emerging field of Engineered Living Materials (ELMs), her research examines how digital tools can guide biological behavior, redefining construction as a collaboration between living and non-living matter. This approach aims to establish new material ecologies for architecture—ones that are not only structurally viable but environmentally attuned and dynamically responsive.

She is a PhD student in Constructed Environments at the University of Virginia. She holds a Master’s in Advanced Architecture and a Postgraduate Diploma in 3D Printing Architecture from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), Barcelona, and a Bachelor of Architecture from L.S. Raheja School of Architecture, Mumbai.

Formerly an Assistant Professor at NMIMS Balwant Sheth School of Architecture, she taught courses on design computation, digital fabrication, and material systems. Ipsita has also contributed to global dialogues on advanced construction technologies and material ecologies through the Digital FUTURES Initiative. With professional experience as an architect and BIM manager, her current research explores sustainable construction, bio-materials, and digital fabrication, focusing on integrating living systems into material and architectural design.