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Juan Gabriel Moreno

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Juan Gabriel Moreno is a Colombian born architect. He is president and founder of Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects (JGMA), which operates from Chicago, Illinois.[1][2] Moreno has worked on projects in many countries, and is known for his experimental socially-conscious designs.[3]

Early life and education

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Moreno was born and grew up in Bogota, Colombia[4][5] and studied architecture at California State Polytechnic University Pomona. He also lived in Florence, Italy where he studied under Superstudio founders Christiano Toraldo di Francia and Gianni Pettena.

Career

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Moreno founded Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects and is president of the company.[6][7] Over the next 30 years, he worked on many architectural projects around the world. His projects have included both public and private designs for education, government, research, commercial, urban planning, product design and graphic design.

JGMA was presented with the 2012 AIA Chicago Design Award and was recognized by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos as one of the “100 COLOMBIANOS” for 2013. He was a recipient of the 2013 “PIECE” Award for International Excellence which recognizes Colombians working outside of the country and making a difference in the lives of children and communities. JGMA won the 2013 Architizer International Design Award and the 2013 and 2014 Driehaus Design Excellence Award.

In 2014 JGMA was recognized by Crain's Business as one of the architecture firms “reshaping Chicago”. The company was given the 2014 Gold Medal in the Premios Arquitectura Diaspora Colombiana MMXIV.

Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects designed the UNO Soccer Academy,[8][9] which won a Chicago Architecture Award in 2011.[10] The company also designed the Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy,[11] and The Cube at Westfield's Old Orchard Mall.

Moreno designed the Northeastern Illinois University El Centro Campus building.[12][13][14] The design is noted for its unusual way of deflecting both traffic noise and summer heat.[4]

In 2015 JGMA worked on several projects including a residential high-rise for the John Buck Company, a Sustainable Design Center at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, and a refurbishment of the historic Lathrop Homes development. That year he was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks[15]

JGMA was the recipient of the 2015 Chicago Building Congress Award for New Construction. The company was featured on television on Univision, WTTW Chicago’s My Chicago program, and on ABC‘s ñ Beat show. JGMA was one of the eight architecture firms representing Chicago in the inaugural Architecture Biennial. Architect magazine selected JGMA as one of the “Top 50 Design Firms” in the U.S. in 2015 and it was selected by Modern Luxury Interiors magazine as the best architecture firm in their annual Best of Design Issue.[12]

In 2015 Moreno was presented with three building design awards from the Chicago AIA.[16] One of the awards, for the El Centro building, raised controversy after it was discovered that it was given based on photographs that were digitally manipulated to remove large rooftop mechanical units from view.[17] Also in 2015, JGMA entered a contest to design the planned Obama Presidential Center.[18]

In 2017 Moreno joined the board of directors of the Loyola University Health System.

References

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  1. ^ "Our studio visit with Chicago’s JGMA". Architect's Newspaper, By Matthew Messner April 21, 2016
  2. ^ "An Architect Tries Not To Get Lost in Chicago's Legacy", CRAIN'S Chicago Business.NEIU, Micah Maidenberg, February 28, 2014
  3. ^ "Juan Gabriel Moreno designs for the underdog". Curbed, Patrick Sisson Nov 15, 2016,
  4. ^ a b "JGMA’s Latino Student Center Bounces Highway Noise and Manipulates Sunlight". Interior Design, March 31, 2016 By Thomas Connors
  5. ^ "The Rise And Fall Of Juan Rangel, The Patrón Of Chicago’s UNO Charter Schools". Huffington Post, 01/09/2014 Cassie Walker Burke
  6. ^ "Our studio visit with Chicago’s JGMA". The Architect's Newspaper, By Matthew Messner. April 21, 2016
  7. ^ "Contemporary architect Juan Gabriel Moreno respects the past, builds for future".ABC Eyewitness News, October 15, 2012 By Theresa Gutierrez
  8. ^ Christopher H Tienken; Carol A. Mullen (6 November 2015). Education Policy Perils: Tackling Tough Issues. Taylor & Francis. pp. 21–. ISBN 978-1-317-48369-4.
  9. ^ Mary Zangs (1 July 2014). The Chicago 77: A Community Area Handbook. The History Press. pp. 220–. ISBN 978-1-62585-146-8.
  10. ^ [1], James Pritzker's Michigan Avenue Restoration Wins Architecture Foundation Honors"] CRAIN'S Chicago Business December 1, 2011
  11. ^ "See the Top Winners in AIA Chicago's Design Night, Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy", CRAIN'S Chicago Business. October 26, 2012 Helmut Jahn
  12. ^ a b "Best In Design" Modern Luxury Interiors, NEIU, February 3, 2015. by Diana Bitting, Andrea Mills, Jessie Sardina and Bianca Smith
  13. ^ "The Design Behind That Traffic-Stopping Building Off the Kennedy", CRAIN'S Chicago Business. NEIU, April 5, 2014
  14. ^ "Great (and not so great) Moments in Chicago Architecture". CRAIN'S Chicago Business. 2014, NEIU, December 18, 2014 by EDWARD KEEGAN
  15. ^ "'Historic' Leona's No Landmark, City Says - But Neighbors Fight To Save It" Archived 2016-01-11 at the Wayback Machine. DNA Info, By Alisa Hauser and Ted Cox | November 5, 2015
  16. ^ "Chicago AIA unveils building design awards". Chicago Tribune, Oct 23, 2015.
  17. ^ "Doctored photo raises questions about ethics in architecture contests". Chicago Tribune, Dec 5, 2015.
  18. ^ "All-Star List of Architecture Firms In Running for Obama Library". September 2, 2015, by AJ LaTrace
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