Nanchalee Waite is an architectural designer whose work at the RCA explores the intersections between material, environment, and health. Her thesis develops a cross-scalar methodology – from the molecular to the environmental – by investigating the presence of toxic synthetic chemicals in the body and built environment. Through film, drawing, fieldwork, and collaboration with science, the project traces how toxicity accumulates over time.
Challenging conventional architectural approaches to scale, the work shifts focus to the nanoscale – the level at which chemical realities are engineered, embedded, and activated. At this scale, architectural thinking must expand beyond form and function to engage with molecular processes and systemic impacts. To truly confront the realities of toxicity and its entanglements, architecture must operate not only at the scale of buildings, but at the scale where materials affect bodies and ecologies from within. Here, process and method become central to the work, allowing design to respond to conditions that are often unseen and pervasive.