ACSA Conference: Hernan Diaz Alonso

Considered one of the most influential voices of his generation, Hernan Diaz Alonso is the new Director of  SCI-Arc. For several years he was the Graduate Programs Chair at SCI-Arc and served as Distinguish Professor of Architecture and the Graduate Thesis Coordinator at the school. He is principal and founder of Xefirotarch, a Los Angeles-based design practice.

Previously, he has taught as a design studio professor at Columbia University GSAPP and he is the head studio professor in the “Excessive” post-graduate program at the Universitat fur angewandte Kunst in Wien, Austria. He was recently honored by Yale University with the Louis I. Kahn Visiting Assistant Professorship of Architectural Design for fall 2010 and by the American Institute of Architects as the Educator of the year in 2012.

Diaz Alonso has lectured extensively at major institutions around the world, and his work has been include in numerous times at the Venice Architecture Biennale, London Architecture Biennale, Archilab,  His architecture designs have received numerous awards and have been displayed in both architecture and art museum exhibitions, such as New York MoMa, San Francisco MoMa, Art Institute of Chicago, Artist Space in New York. His work has been widely published in magazines and periodicals worldwide and multiple books, including the “Excessive” monograph and an upcoming monograph by Thames and Hudson.

In 2005, Diaz Alonso was the winner of PS1 MoMa’s Young Architects Program (YAP) competition. His work has since been the subject of solo shows at the San Francisco MoMa in 2006, the Art Institute of Chicago and the MAK Centre, Wien in 2007 and currently his office is building the Center of Experience and Media for Boeing in Seattle USA.

His work is part of the permanent collections of the FRAC Center, the San Francisco MoMa, New York MoMa, Thyssen Bornamiza Collection in Vienna, MAK Museum in Vienna and the Art Institute of Chicago.