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Alejandro Zaera-Polo

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Alejandro Zaera Polo
Born (1963-10-17) October 17, 1963 (age 61)
Madrid, Spain
NationalitySpanish
OccupationArchitect
PracticeAZPML
Foreign Office Architects
BuildingsOsanbashi Yokohama International Passenger Terminal
Bamboo Building (Madrid, 2007).
Birmingham New Street railway station, 2007–2015).

Alejandro Zaera Polo is a Spanish-born American contemporary architect and founder of London and New York based Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture (AZPML). He is the former dean of the School of Architecture at Princeton University for two years[1] and a prolific theorist, widely published in different professional media.

Career

Alejandro Zaera-Polo was born in Madrid, Spain on 17 October 1963.[2] He trained at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, and after graduating he left Spain in 1989.[3] Zaera-Polo went on to do a Master in Architecture (MARCH II) at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.[2][when?] It was at Harvard University he met architect, Farshid Moussavi.[4]

He worked at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam between 1991 and 1993. In 1993, he co-founded Foreign Office Architects with his ex-wife Farshid Moussavi. The "Foreign" in the company's name referred to the principal's' heritage, with Zaera–Polo hailing from Spain and Moussavi from Iran. The company produced architectural projects in Japan, the United States, the Netherlands and Spain.[5]

In June 2011, after the dissolution of FOA, he established Alejandro Zaera-Polo Architecture (AZPA) renamed Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture (AZPML).[2][6]

Alejandro Zaera Polo’s practice has produced critically acclaimed and award-winning projects for the public and private sector on an international scale. He favors a pragmatic approach, embracing technical rigor in a search towards a complex and organic architecture which unfolds through a broad variety of locations and typologies.

He has also been an advisor to the Quality Commission for Architecture in Barcelona and a contributor to the Urban Age Think Tank of the London School of Economics.[when?] He has published extensively as a critic in professional magazines worldwide. El Croquis, Quaderns, A+U, Arch+, Harvard Design Magazine, Log and other magazines have published his writings.

He was the inaugural director of the Seoul Architecture Biennale in 2017.

Academia

Alejandro Zaera-Polo has maintained in parallel an academic career. He was the Dean of the School of Architecture at Princeton University (2012–2014), the Dean of the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam, and the inaugural beneficiary of the Norman Foster Visiting Professorship at Yale University.[7] Prior to that, he was a Unit Master at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and has been a Visiting Critic at University of California, Los Angeles, Columbia University in New York, the School of Architecture in Madrid and the Yokohama School of Architecture.

While serving as Dean at Princeton University, Princeton architecture was featured at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2014.[8] Zaera-Polo abruptly left his role as Dean, after he was accused by the Princeton University President of "plagiarizing parts of a text he produced for the “Elements of Architecture” exhibition curated by Rem Koolhaas at the 2014 Venice Biennale".[7][9] Architect Rem Koolhaas emailed the Biennale’s director to deny any wrongdoing by Zaera-Polo.[10] Zaera-Polo also denied the accusations and as a result, Zaera-Polo filed a lawsuit against the school in 2016.[9]

Selected projects

Foreign Office Architects (FOA)

  • Ōsanbashi Pier, also known as Yokohama Terminal, Yokohama, Japan (1995–2002)[11]
  • Bluemoon Hotel, Groningen, The Netherlands (1999–2000)
  • Police headquarters, La Villajoyosa, Spain (2000-2003)
  • Coastal park with outdoor auditoriums, Barcelona, Spain (2000-2004)
  • Municipal Theatre, Torrevieja, Spain (2000-2006)
  • La Rioja Technology Transfer Centre, Logrono (2003-2007)
  • Bamboo Building, a social housing in Madrid (2004-7)
  • Spanish Pavilion at the 2005 International Expo, Aichi (2004-5)
  • Headquarters for Dulnyouk Publishers, Paju, South Korea (2000-5)
  • Meydan Retail Complex and Multiplex, Istanbul, Turkey (2005-7)
  • John Lewis department store and Cineplex and pedestrian bridges, Leicester, UK (2000-2008)[12][13]
  • Villa in Pedralbes, Barcelona, Spain (2004-8)
  • D-38 Office Complex, Barcelona (2004–2009)
  • New Street station, Birmingham (2008–15)
  • Ravensbourne college on the Greenwich Peninsula, London (2005-2010)[14]
  • Trinity EC3 office complex, City of London (2003-)
  • Mixed-use extension of West Quay II retail centre, Southampton (2002-)
  • Sevenstone Quarter mixed-use complex, Sheffield, UK (2007-)
  • Hadspen Gardens, Somerset, UK (2005-)
  • The Palace Residential Towers in Busan, South Korea (2006–2011)
  • Euston station, London, UK (2008-not completed)[15][16]
  • Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA (2006-)
  • KL Central Plot D Residential Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2006-)

Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture (AZPML)

  • Birmingham New Street Redevelopment, Birmingham UK (2007-2015)
  • 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championship Facilities in Santander, Spain (2011-2014)
  • Gapyong Community Centre in South Korea (2010-)
  • Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova in Lleida, Spain (2011-)
  • BioPol Science Centre in Barcelona, Spain (2011-)
  • Locarno Palazzo del Cinema, Switzerland (2013-)

Awards

This is a list of select awards and honors given to Zaera-Polo.

  • Enric Miralles Prize for Architecture (2003)
  • Kanagawa Prize for Architecture in Japan (2003)
  • RIBA International Award (2004)
  • Lion Award for Topography at the 9th Venice Architecture Biennale (2004)
  • Charles Jencks Award for Architecture (2005)
  • RIBA International Award (2005) for his work with Foreign Office Architects (FOA).[17]
  • RIBA International Award (2006)
  • RIBA European Award (2008)
  • European Business Award for the Environment (2008)
  • Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence (2008)
  • RIBA Award (2009)
  • Civic Trust Award (2010)
  • International Council of Shopping Centres Award (2010)
  • International Architecture Award (2010)

In Tite Kubo's manga series Bleach, the character Szayelaporro Grantz is named after Alejandro Zaera-Polo.

Publications

Books

  • Ito, Toyo; Kipnis, Jeffrey; Najle, Ciro (2001). "Foreign Office Architects". 2G N.16. 16. Barcelona, Spain: Gustavo Gili. ISSN 1136-9647. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06.
  • Kubo, Michael (2002). The Yokohama Project. Barcelona, Spain: Actar. ISBN 978-8495951182. This book is about FOA and the construction of the Yokohama Terminal (Ōsanbashi Pier).
  • The Yokohama Project, a monograph, Actar, Barcelona, Spain, 2002
  • Phylogenesis: foa’s ark, Actar, Barcelona, Spain, 2003
  • Foreign Office Architects, Complexity and consistency, A monograph, El Croquis, # 115/116, Madrid, Spain, 2003
  • FOA’s ark evolving container for the proliferating singularities, Korean Architecture and Culture Magazine, December 2004
  • The Sniper's Log. Architectural Chronicles of Generation X. Actar, Barcelona, Spain, 2013.

Other texts

  • Interview with Peter Macapia, Log, #3, Fall 2004
  • ‘A Scientific Autobiography, 1982-2004: Madrid, Harvard, OMA, the AA, Yokohama, the Globe’, in The New Architectural Pragmatism, (ed. William S. Saunders), Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007
  • ‘30 St Mary’s Axe: Form isn’t Facile’, Log, #4, Winter 2005
  • ‘The Hokusai Wave’, Volume, #3, September 2005
  • ‘High-rise Phylum 2007’, Harvard Design Magazine, Spring 2007
  • The Endless City (eds. Richard Burdett and Deyan Sudjic), Phaidon, 2007. ISBN 0714848204[18]
  • 'The Politics of the Envelope', Log #13|14, Fall 2008
  • 'The Politics of the Envelope', Volume #17, Fall 2008

References

  1. ^ "Alejandro Zaera-Polo steps down as Princeton Architecture School dean". Dezeen. 2014-10-02. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  2. ^ a b c "Spotlight: Alejandro Zaera-Polo". ArchDaily. 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  3. ^ "Architect's quest at Princeton to create more sustainable suburbs". Financial Times. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  4. ^ Chamberlain, Lisa (2008). Slackonomics: Generation X in the Age of Creative Destruction. Da Capo Press. p. 159. ISBN 0786718846.
  5. ^ "Foreign Office Architects - Yokohama International Port Terminal". arcspace.com. 28 October 2002. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  6. ^ "Splitsville, Sprawling, Lab Lead, Bird Brains". ArchPaper.com. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2019-12-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b "Alejandro Zaera-Polo steps down as Princeton Architecture School dean". Dezeen. 2014-10-02. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  8. ^ "Build it and they will come: Princeton architecture at the Venice Biennale". Princeton University. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  9. ^ a b "Alejandro Zaera-Polo is Suing Princeton. Here's Why That Matters for Architecture". ArchDaily. 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  10. ^ "Koolhaas Denounces Plagiarism Rumors Surrounding Zaera-Polo's Princeton Resignation". ArchDaily. 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  11. ^ "AD Classics: Yokohama International Passenger Terminal / Foreign Office Architects (FOA)". ArchDaily. 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  12. ^ "ShowCase: John Lewis Department Store and Cineplex". Archinect. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  13. ^ "John Lewis Department Store and Cineplex". Architizer. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  14. ^ "Ravensbourne by Foreign Office Architects". Bustler. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  15. ^ Vaughan, Richard. "FOA and Allies and Morrison to overhaul Euston station". Architects Journal. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  16. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (2011-09-30). "Constructive criticism: the week in architecture". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2018-12-19. But don't hold your breath: big talk in 2008 of an ambitious new station masterplanned by Allies and Morrison, designed by Foreign Office Architects, developed by British Land and with the Euston Arch brought back to life, came to nothing.
  17. ^ "Alejandro Aravena, ganador del Premio RIBA Charles Jencks 2018". Plataforma Arquitectura (in Spanish). 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  18. ^ Publisher's website
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