Rate My Professor Marianne Cusato

Cusato gained prominence for designing the 308 sq. ft. Katrina Cottage in 2005 as an alternative to FEMA trailers post-Hurricane Katrina, which received the Smithsonian Institute’s Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum’s 2006 People’s Design Award. She is the author of two books: Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid, co-authored with Leon Krier, Ben Pentreath, and Richard Sammons (Sterling Publishing, 2008), and The Just Right Home: Buying, Renting, Moving...or Just Dreaming—Find Your Perfect Match!, with Daniel DiClerico (Workman Publishing, 2013). Her achievements include being ranked the No. 4 most influential person in the home building industry by Builder Magazine, named one of the Top Women in Real Estate by Fortune Magazine, and voted one of the 30 Most Influential Women in the Housing Economy by HousingWire Magazine. At Notre Dame, she teaches courses such as Charrette Lab (ARCH 41711), U.S. Housing & Social Justice (ARCH 43201/AMST 30922), and Why Are Buildings Ugly? (ARCH 53381). Cusato serves on the Board of Trustees of INTBAU and was appointed to the READI 2.0 Review Committee by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. in 2024.