Alejandro Aravena
Design Critic in Architecture
Department of Architecture
Alejandro Aravena is an architect (Universidad Catolica de Chile, 1992), opened his own professional studio in 1994, is Adjunct Professor in the Universidad Catolica and Visiting Professor at the Harvard Design School. After graduating, he studied Architectural History and Theory in the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia and engraving in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia (1992-93). His professional work includes the Mathematics Faculty and more recently the Medical Faculty of the Universidad Catolica de Chile and has been published and awarded extensively: Venice Biennale (1991), Mies van der Rohe Award 2000 (finalist, Barcelona), Santiago Biennale 2000 (1st Prize) and most recently in the Iberoamerican Biennale 2002. In 1999 he took part in the Visiting Professors Program in the Architectural Association in London. He has published a number of books, essays and articles; among them, Los Hechos de la Arquitectura (Architectural Facts, Ed. ARQ 1999/ 2002), El Lugar de la arquitectura (Ed ARQ, 2002) and most recently Material de Arquitectura (Ed ARQ, 2004). He was named the best architect under 40 by the Chilean Architects Association. He has been part of the group discussing the challenges in chilean development called "El Chile que viene". He is currently building The Quinta Monroy Social Housing project in the chilean desert, the Tower for Digital Education and the School of Architecture for the Universidad Catolica, the Masterplan for the Metropolitan Park of Santiago and the Concert Hall of Chile. He is director of ELEMENTAL, an international initiative that is building seven exemplary low cost housing projects throughout the country, designed by some of the best architects in the world. In October 2004 an individual exhibition on his work will be held at the Harvard GSD.