Manuel Bouzas Barcala

Manuel Bouzas is a Spanish architect, researcher, and educator currently serving as one of the 2024–25 Design Teaching Fellows at Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. His work explores the intersection of architecture and ecology, focusing on urban installations and design research. Bouzas earned his M. Arch. with distinction from the Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM) and holds a Master in Design Studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he also served as a Teaching Fellow in the Undergraduate Architecture Studies program.

His design practice, MB—AE, examines the relationship between the materials we build with and the landscapes from which they emerge, with a special focus on timber and forests. His projects have received support from private and public institutions, including the MITMA Ministry of the Government of Spain, Harvard GSD, Villa Medici: The French Academy in Rome, CHANEL, and the Arquia Foundation. Notable recent works include Cabane 7L in Rome (2024) and the Mediterranean Pavilion in Valencia (2023).

Manuel has contributed to the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in both 2023's Foodscapes and 2018's Becoming, as well as to the Spanish Architecture and Urbanism Biennial in 2021. His work has been recognized with the Renzo Piano World Tour Award (2022), the La Caixa Fellowship (2021), and the COAM Emerging Award (2020). His projects have been widely featured in specialized international media such as Arquitectura Viva, Domus, Divisare, Design Boom, ArchDaily, PLOT, El Mundo, and AD Magazine.

Academic Research/Specialty Areas

  • Architectural design
  • Architectural installations
  • Architectural practice 
  • Circular economies
  • Drawing
  • Ecological practice
  • Material practice
  • Structures in architecture
  • Sustainability
  • Timber
  • Forestry
  • Extraction

 

Classes (Selected)

  • ARCH 1101, Geologies of Making, First year B. Arch. Design Studio, Fall 2024.

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships (Selected)

  • Design Teaching Fellowship, Cornell AAP, 2024–25.
  • La Caixa Postgraduate Fellowship, 2021.
  • Renzo Piano World Tour Award, 2022.
  • Master Thesis Award, 15th Spanish Architecture and Urbanism Biennial, 2021.
  • COAM Emerging Architect Award, Official Association of Architects of Madrid, 2020.

Exhibitions and Presentations (Selected)

  • Forest Futures, Druker Gallery, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 2024.
  • Foodscapes, Spanish Pavilion at the 18th Biennale di Venezia, 2023.
  • Becoming, Spanish Pavilion at the 16th Biennale di Venezia, 2018.

Publications (Selected)

  • Bouzas, Manuel, Daniel Ibañez, and Vicente Guallart. "Drinking Forests: A Metabolic Recipe of Wine." In Foodscapes: Total Recipes, edited by Eduardo Castillo and Manuel Ocaña, 77-100. Madrid: MIVAU. (2023)

Selected Work

  • A wooden observation platform perched atop a hill overlooks a sprawling cityscape with a pine tree in the foreground. The city is bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, with distant buildings and structures visible.

    Cabane 7L in Villa Medici, The French Academy in Rome. (2024) photo / Luis Diaz Diaz

  • A modern, open-air pavilion with a green metal roof stands in a city square. The pavilion has a lattice-like structure with wooden benches and seating areas inside. People are walking and cycling on the surrounding streets.

    Mediterranean Pavilion in TAC! Festival Valencia. (2023) photo / Luis Diaz Diaz

  • A modern, wooden book display stands in a spacious, arched hallway with marble floors. A large, geometric light fixture hangs from the ceiling above.

    Librairie 7L in Villa Medici, The French Academy in Rome. (2024) photo / Luis Diaz Diaz

  • A gallery space with a wooden display stand holding framed photographs. The photographs depict various landscapes and cityscapes. Additional framed photographs hang on the walls.

    Forest Futures, exhibition design at Druker Gallery, Harvard GSD. (2024) photo / Manuel Bouzas

  • A large, open gallery space with a white vaulted ceiling and skylights. The walls are covered with framed posters and images of architectural plans and models. Tables display additional materials.

    Foodscapes , contribution to the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. (2023) photo / Pedro Pegenaute

  • A two-page spread from a magazine featuring a design project titled

    "Drinking Forests: A Metabolic Recipe of Wine". In Foodscapes: Total Recipes, 2023. image / provided

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