Rubén Alcolea

Rubén Alcolea is involved in academia and develops a professional practice. Specializing  in photography and modern architecture, Alcolea  is author of books such as Picnic de Pioneros (TC, 2009); Premios Pritzker: Discursos de Aceptación (Arquia, 2015); and the four volumes Inter: Photography and Architecture (MUN, 2016). Alcolea has curated exhibitions as well as chaired public programs and conferences. In 2000, he founded his own architecture office, alcolea+tárrago. His practice has received prizes for built work and awards in more than 30 open competitions.

Alcolea graduated from the University of Navarra in Pamplona; and earned his Ph.D. with a dissertation on architecture and photography in early modernism. Before joining Cornell in 2016, he taught at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, where he served as vice dean for research and academic programs from 2009 to 2015.

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Classes (Selected)

  • ARCH 3308/6308-102 Special Topics in Theory:  Photography and Architecture
  • ARCH 3308/6308SingleHousing: The Architect’s Home
  • ARCH 2301 Architectural Analysis I: Buildings, Drawings, and Texts
  • ARCH 2101/2102 Design III and IV
  • ARCH 4101/5101/ Option Studio: The Library of Illusions

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships (Selected)

  • AJAC VI Prize for Young Architects, COAC, Barcelona(2008)
  • 40 Under 40 for Emerging Young ArchitectsAward, Chicago Atheneum (2010)
  • Sveta 2013 Prize, Hise Magazine, Ljubljana(2013)
  • COAVN Prize, Navarra-Basque CountryInstitute of Architects(2013)
  • XIV BEAU Award, Spanish Architecture Biennale (2018)

Publications (Selected)

  • Picnic de Pioneros, Ediciones Generales, Valencia (2009)
  • “Spectra: Architecture in transit”, in Architects’ Journeys, GSAPP (2011)
  • “Anonymous Manifestos: The eye of the architect”, in After the Manifesto, GSAPP (2014)
  • The Pritzker Prize: The Acceptance speeches, Fundacion Arquia, Madrid (2015)
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