The 'Meet the Team' series continues and it is now my turn to tell you a little bit about me...My name is Melissa Listanti and I am one of the Architects in the studio. 

I joined the practice only six months ago but the time has flown and it only seems like yesterday when I walked through the gates of 50 North Road. Since joining the office I have been working on a large healthcare project here in Drogheda. 

I am originally from a small town in central Italy called Narni. After graduating from the Milan Polytechnic School, I came to Ireland for a change of scenery and what I had planned to be six months suddenly turned into 11 years... 

Being raised in my family home, which my grandfather had built with his brother in the 1960's gave me the chance to learn a lot from him. Constantly assisting him with his many jobs around the house, I had built and plastered walls, learned the rudiment of plumbing and shown the hard work of landscaping by the age of ten. 

My first real encounter with Architecture was during secondary school, where I developed a passion for drawing and the love of stationary that comes with it. At the same time, I had joined the drama group and discovered that creating costumes and scenographies (most of the time with a very limited budget) was my way to turn my ideas into something tangible. And the decision to progress with studying Architecture was made then. When my Latin teacher heard, she even tried to make me read the original version of Vitruvius' De Architectura, which lies intact on a shelf in my bedroom (in my parents' home back in Italy). 

My years in Milan were tough at the beginning, I had moved 600km away from home on my own and the full time study was challenging. However, walking under the A in the Viganò building always brought a smile to my face for the following 6 years. During my Masters I decided to spend a year abroad through the Erasmus programme and I was offered a year at the RWTH Aachen. 

The twelve months that I spent in Germany were unforgettable. I made friends for life, discovered a city that was human in scale but cosmopolitan at the same time and of course I had the opportunity to see a lot of German cities and architecture. 

Unfortunately, graduating in Architecture in the middle of an economic recession was not easy. After spending six months looking for a paid job in an architectural practice, I moved back home but also without success with my job hunt. So, I decided to travel to Ireland for 6 months or a year.

After working in hospitality and customer service for few years, in 2016 I had the opportunity to rethink my career, so I decided to buy a one-way ticket to Darwin (NT). Decision postponed. After spending 14 months travelling solo through Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia, I decided to return to Ireland in 2017. Few more jobs and with a Masters in World Heritage Management and Conservation from UCD, I was now ready to step back into Architecture. So in 2019, I applied to the Graduate programme in the Department of Education in Tullamore. Learning about public works and being able to build schools around the country was inspiring and eye-opening. In 2020, I moved to Drogheda and recently started to set my roots on the North side of the Boyne. 

In 2023, I found the courage to apply to the local practice and really mix with the locals. It has been great to work with such a great group of people for the past months and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.