Dr. ir. Faidra (Phaedra) Oikonomopoulou is Assistant Professor at the Structural Design & Mechanics Group in the Faculty of Architecture at TU Delft. Her research focuses on structural glass, in particular, on innovative structural and architectural applications of cast glass components and on the design of full-glass load-bearing structures and components.

Faidra holds a PhD degree by TU Delft (2019) on the topic of “Unveiling the Third Dimension of Glass. Solid Cast Glass Components and Assemblies for Structural Applications”, focusing on the design, development, prototyping and experimental validation of building systems utilizing solid cast glass components. She also holds two MSc degrees, in Architectural Engineering by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and in Building Technology by TU Delft.

Faidra has been one of the lead researchers involved in the research, development and construction of the Crystal Houses Façade in Amsterdam. As part of the research team of the Crystal Houses she has received multiple awards, including the Outstanding Innovation Award 2016 by the Society of Façade Engineers, the Glass Award for Innovation 2016 by Bouwend Nederland,  and the Talent met Toekomst 2017. She has been further involved in several structural glass projects including the development of a bundled glass column, LightVault, a robotically assembled glass-brick vault in collaboration with SOM and Princeton, and the realization of the Qaammat Pavilion, a small adhesively-bonded glass brick pavilion in Greenland.

She has further initiated or co-initiated research in topics such as the restoration of historic monuments by glass, the Topological Optimization of Cast Glass Structural Components, the exploration of 3D-printed sand moulds for casting customized glass components and Re³ Glass: a reversible system using recycled, interlocking cast glass components, achieving circularity at material and construction level. For its sustainable character, Re³ Glass has been a New Material Award (2018) and S+T+ARTS Prize (2020) nominee.

Prototypes of her research work have been exhibited in several international fairs and exhibitions, such as the Dutch Design Week, the Venice Design, the Salone del Mobile and the Vitra Design Museum. Faidra has received several grants, awards and nominations for her research work and has given multiple invited talks in universities, companies and institutions in Europe and USA. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Architecture, Structures & Construction by Springer Nature and the part of the scientific board of the International Conference on Structures and Architecture (ICSA).

Faidra is involved as a tutor in the MSc of Building Technology, in courses such as Technoledge Structural Design (course coordinator), SWAT and Research & Innovation. She is a structural design consultant for MSc Students of Architecture and a mentor in multiple MSc graduation thesis focusing on structural glass.