Eleni D. Contis

About Eleni D. Contis

Hi, I\'m Eleni. I\'m an artist and architectural designer based in Pittsburgh, PA. When I\'m not hiking the Southside steps, exploring the stacks at CLP, or wandering the nearest cemetery, I’m thinking about how people move through and find meaning in the built environment. I studied architecture and fine art at RISD, where I completed my thesis on the history, impact, and future applications of cemeteries in urban landscapes. Today, I’m actively pursuing my architect\'s license and deepening my commitment to shaping cities that are thoughtful, humane, and grounded in place.I currently work as a project manager at Pfaffmann + Associates. At P+A, I’ve collaborated with local non-profit entities on multi-unit affordable housing renovations, libraries, and educational facilities. Previously, I managed the Design and Placemaking program at Grounded Strategies, where I worked with Pittsburgh residents to develop vacant parcels into designed green spaces, facilitated community design workshops, led build days on-site, and taught workshops on urban design with local teens.My art practice combines a close observation of the built environment with more intuitive expressions of my lived experience. I often take informal walks through the city, collecting rubbings and photographs of textures that add to my growing texture library, and jotting down brief reflections on the people and moments I encounter along the way. These materials feed into a multimedia practice that spans drawing, installation, and experimental processes. Recently, I established a small studio in a decommissioned church, where I’m steadily bringing ideas to life that have lived in my notebooks for years.I believe that the spaces we live in are integral to the people we become, the stories we tell and the futures we build. I\'m passionate about both ecological and social sustainability, community engagement, and projects that provide access to public resources. I aspire to inhabit the design process as a force of positive change, and to bring an artful perspective to my work.Feel free to reach out anytime. My portfolio is available upon request.

Experience

1. Project Manager

   Pfaffmann Associates

   Feb 2024 — Present

Education

• The Ellis School

  High School Diploma

• Rhode Island School of Design

  Bachelor of Fine Arts

  2014 — 2020

• Carnegie Mellon University

  Pre-College Program - Architecture

• Rhode Island School of Design

  Bachelor of Architecture

  2014 — 2020