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Jose Ignacio Ábalos Vazquez Appointed Chair of the Department of Architecture

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design has announced the appointment of Iñaki Ábalos as Chair of the Department of Architecture as of July 1, 2013. As Professor in Residence of Architecture at the GSD, Ábalos leads option studios, lectures and seminars that are grounded in both technology and history. His courses on the thermal properties of architecture and the integration of natural elements include Air in Motion and Thermodynamic Madrid. 

“The school will undoubtedly benefit from his deep intellectual commitment to the field of architecture and his passion as both an educator and an architect,” said Dean Mohsen Mostafavi. “I have no doubt that he will make great contributions to the culture of collaboration within the GSD and to the rest of the university.”

Scott Cohen, Inaki Abalos, MOhsen Mostafavi

Preston Scott Cohen, Iñaki Ábalos and Mohsen Mostafavi

A founding member of Ábalos + Sentkiewicz Arquitectos (since 2007) and Ábalos and Herreros (1984-2007), his work is broadly interdisciplinary, integrating theory and practice and focusing on the interaction of architecture, technology, landscape and culture. Ábalos + Sentkiewicz’s design work incorporates social and emerging cultural values, specializing in highrise buildings, cultural equipment, public spaces and collective housing.

In addition to his internationally recognized practice, Ábalos has written extensively on architecture. Together with Juan Herreros, he authored Le Corbusier Skyscrapers (City of Madrid, 1988); Tower and Office (MIT Press, 2003); and Natural-Artificial (Exit LMI, Madrid, 1999). Ábalos edited Nature and Artifice (Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 2009), and wrote The Good Life (Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 2000); Picturesque Atlas (Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, Volume I, 2005, Volume II, 2007); and the monograph Alejandro de la Sota with Josep Llinàs and Moisés Puente (Fundación Caja de Arquitectos, Barcelona, 2009).

Ábalos received a master’s degree in architecture (1978) and a PhD in architecture (1991) from the Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM) at Technical University of Madrid. He went on to teach at ETSAM for many years as an assistant professor, associate professor, professor, and most recently, as a chaired professor/director of laboratory techniques and contemporary landscapes. Ábalos has also held faculty positions at the Architectural Association (1998-2000), Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (1998), Columbia University (1995), Princeton University (2004-2007), and Cornell University (2007-2008). In 2009, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) elected him as an international member.