Saraí Berenice Huamán Santillán

Saraí Huamán is a designer whose work integrates architecture and urban design through research and practice. She is currently completing her Preceptorship at PAYETTE in Boston as part of the B.Arch. program at Rice University, where she earned a B.A. in Architecture with minors in Environmental Studies and Sociology, and was honored with the Distinction in Research and Creative Work Award, among other academic distinctions. As a recipient of the John T. Mitchell Traveling Fellowship, she co-authored Scandinavian Urban Experience, a study based in Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen on how public spaces and mobility systems shape patterns of social interaction and spatial appropriation. As a Community Bridges Fellow at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, she partnered with LINK Houston to evaluate and design multimodal transportation strategies advancing equitable and sustainable mobility. Huamán served as editorial advisor for PLAT Journal, supported by a Graham Foundation grant, and led Rice NOMAS, the Anti-Racism Collective (ARC), and RISE LATAM, curating lectures, publications, and events. She has participated in design workshops in Lima, Mexico City, Barcelona, and Paris, and holds certification in Social-Behavioral-Educational (SBE) research ethics for human subjects research. Recent projects include her senior thesis Between Fish and Fishing at the William Ward Watkin Studio, which investigates cultural and ecological tensions at Pyramid Lake, Nevada, proposing design strategies that mediate between environmental stewardship and cultural heritage.