Professor Martin Müller – Director
Martin is a human geographer and professor. He heads the research team M³ (Materialities | Multiplicities | Metropolis) at the University of Lausanne. He is interested in how rich cities attempt to become sexy cities. In other words: How do cities seek to convert economic capital into cultural capital by investing in global urban types such as mega-events and cultural flagships? He works on the Global East.
Contact: martin.muller@unil.ch
Dr. David Gogishvili – Senior Researcher
David is an urban geographer interested in mega-events, megaprojects and mobilities in the Global East. His research examines the role of legal exceptions and politics in large-scale urban projects and mostly focuses on the cities of Central Asia and South Caucasus. He is working on the project Cultural Flagships: Pathways, Practices and Politics of a Global Urban Type.
Contact: david.gogishvili@unil.ch
Quentin Rihoux – Doctoral student, Teaching Assistant
Quentin Rihoux is a researcher and PhD student in the Department of Geography and Sustainability at the University of Lausanne. He received Master degrees in Architecture from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Versailles and in Town and Country Planning from Tongji University Shanghai. After working for some years in the field of urban design and planning, he studied Urban Policies at Sciences Po Paris. His main research interests relate to ‘urban projectification’; causes and consequences of the rise of projects as new dominant instruments for urban governance.
Contact: quentin.rihoux@unil.ch
Greta Ortalli – Doctoral student
Greta Ortalli is a PhD student and teaching assistant within the M3 team. Her research is inscribed in the research-for-action project “Culture Goes Sustainable” under the Swiss BRIDGE Discovery scheme between the University of Lausanne and Zurich University of Applied Sciences. The overall aim of the project is to create a coherent set of knowledge, tools and processes to empower museums and the performing arts worldwide to accelerate the transition towards environmental and ecological sustainability. A framework and sustainability management system (SMS) for measuring, monitoring, and managing progress in sustainability will be developed as part oh her doctoral thesis.
Contact: Greta.Ortalli@unil.ch
Zoé Berney – Project Manager and Communication Lead
Zoé joined the M3 team in October 2024 as Project manager and Communications Lead for the Culture for the Planet research-for-action initiative. During several years of experience in the cultural sector, she has developed expertise in areas such as digital communication, event project management, and fundraising. She is particularly interested in exploring the dynamic relationships between people, institutions, culture, environment, and how these connections can foster meaningful change.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoeberney/
Contact: zoe.berney.1@unil.ch
Giovanna Gray Nassralla – Sustainability Lead
Giovanna has joined the M3 team as the Sustainability Lead for the Culture for the Planet project, leading its global Alliance and community of practice. Her work bridges arts and sustainability. Raised in Brazil, Giovanna’s Global South experience fuels her commitment and belief in the arts’ transformative power. Her career spans roles across art galleries, theatres, and museums. Her interdisciplinary academic background includes a Business Administration degree with a Sustainability minor, a postgraduate diploma in Sociology focusing on cultural policies and urban interactions, and a master’s in Culture, Policy, and Management, where she explored how cultural policies addressing sustainability can be translated into actionable strategies for museums.
igd.unil.ch/giovanna.graynassralla
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/giovanna-gray-nassralla/
Contact: giovanna.graynassralla@unil.ch
Alumni-ae
Dr Clotilde Trivin, Senior researcher in Urban Studies. Teaching at Université de Lausanne. Link
Dr. Violante Torre, Postdoctoral Researcher Université Paris 8 and LAVUE Paris Nanterre. Link
Dr. Laura Neville, Senior Researcher in Geography. Link
Julie Grieshaber, Consultant in the field of sustainability transition and cultural institutions. Link
Maira Ulloa Hernández, Lecturer at Euncet, Politechnical University of Catalunya. Link
Dr. Julia Jastrząbek, Assistant professor at Poznań University of Economics and Business. Link
Dr. Nadia Imhof, Associate & Visiting Researcher, Urban Studies, University of Basel. Link
Dr. Christopher Gaffney, Associate Professor at New York University. Link
Aghata Gonsalves, Co-founder and consultant at Carduma Social in Florianopolis. https://carduma.social/#equipe
Miriam Hug, Researcher, University of Applied Sciences, Bern. Link
Abdallah Jreij, Researcher at Politecnico di Milano Link
Dr. Elisabeth Militz, Assistant Professor for Social and Digital Geographies at University of Innsbruck. https://www.uibk.ac.at/en/geography/staff/militz/
Dr. Suncana Laketa, Project Leader, Institut Neue Schweiz Link
Jill Pope, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Vienna. Link
Dr. Julio Paulos, Associate Research Director of the Future Cities Laboratory at ETH Zurich. https://fcl.ethz.ch/people/lead/julio-paulos.html
Dr. Sven Daniel Wolfe, Assistant Professor of Social and Cultural Geography, University of Neuchâtel Link