Gabriel Castro-Andrade

Gabriel Castro-Andrade is an Ecuadorian and Catracho American from Highland Ave, Orange, NJ. He is a Master of Architecture Candidate '25 with the research focus on relationships between labor and migration across the American built environment. His design work focuses on physical and economic embodied(ness) in developing the interiors and urbanity of our spaces. Working across those scales as directed by the political economies of labor, construction, and despotism.

His current research examines the long-term occupational health of construction laborers, based on their trade and material specialty. A study founded on the notion, that U.S. immigration and labor laws subsidize industry at the expense of laborers' overall well-being. A relationship that not only effects the bodies of those who build, but the design assembly of architecture itself.

Prior to MIT, Gabriel studied at the University of Virginia, earning a B.S. in Pre-Professional Architecture. His studies revolved around Architecture and Architectural History, with a specialization in Urban Cybernetics. He has worked for firms such as Ennead Architects, New Affiliates, and T.E.N., where he contributed to projects spanning urban design, architecture, interiors, and digital interfaces (UI/UX). In addition to his architectural work, Gabriel has served as a design researcher for the Federal Chambers of Commerce (as related to the CHIPS ACT) and the Smart Environment Lab at UVA. He has taught architectural design to students across the graduate, undergraduate, high schooler, and middle schooler stages of education.