Alejandro Aravena is Principal of Elemental SA.
His work includes the Mathematics Faculty, Medical Faculty, and Architecture School for the Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago; Huelquen Montessori School, Chile; new facilities for St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, USA; and social housing and urban projects for Elemental SA.
He established his private practice after graduating with a degree in architecture from the Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago in 1992.He has been professor at the Universidad Católica, Santiago (since 1994) and Elemental Copec Professor at the UC (since 2006). He was Visiting Professor at Harvard GSD (2000-05).
He has received the Silver Lion at the XI Venice Biennale, 1st Prize in the XII and the XV Santiago Biennale, the Erich Schelling Architecture Medal 2006 (Germany). He was finalist in the Mies van der Rohe Award (2000), in the Iakhov Chernikhov Prize 2008 (Moscow) and in the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2008 (Paris). In 2009 he was one of ten non-British architects to be awarded the title of “International Fellow” by the Royal Institute of British Architects for his exemplary contribution to the field of architecture.
Alejandro Araven has written Los Hechos de la Arquitectura (1999, 3rd Ed. 2007), El Lugar de la Arquitectura (2002) and Material de Arquitectura (2003). His work has been exhibited at the X-hibition, retrospective at Harvard GSD (2004), X in Centro de Extensión UC, São Paulo Biennale (2007), Milan Triennale (2008) and the Venice Biennale.
In 2009 he was appointed a member of the jury of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 2009. Jury members serve for multiple years to assure a balance between past and new members and are entrusted with selecting the laureate each year.
[last updated 20-Mar-10]