Vicente Guallart

Vicente Guallart is an award-winning architect, urbanist, and researcher who served as the chief architect of Barcelona City Council from 2011 to 2015, where he was responsible for developing the strategic vision for the transformation of the city and its major development projects. He was also the first general manager of Urban Habitat, a newly created department encompassing urban planning, housing, the environment, infrastructure, and information technologies.

Previously, he founded the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), one of the world’s leading architecture schools. At IAAC, he led significant projects such as the Media House Project (in collaboration with MIT’s CBA), Hyper Catalunya, and the Fab Lab House. He is currently the Director of Valldaura Labs at IAAC and co-director of the Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEEB).

His professional practice, Urbanitree, has developed ecological projects including the ports of Fugee and Keelung in Taiwan, the Sociopolis neighborhood in Valencia, and the Gandia Sharing Blocks. He has also won several international competitions and commissions in China, such as post-COVID housing in Xiong’an (2020) and the Xianmihu Master Plan in Shenzhen (2018).

Guallart is the author of influential books such as Plans and Projects of Barcelona (2011-2015), Geologics and The Self-Sufficient City, as well as a co-author of the Metapolis Dictionary of Advanced Architecture. He is also the editor of the English edition of General Theory of Urbanization by Ildefons Cerdà.

Guallart has received numerous awards in architecture and urban planning. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA)in Washington, D.C.