Alejandro Zaera-Polo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alejandro Zaera Polo
Born	(1963-10-17) October 17, 1963 (age 61) Madrid, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation	Architect
Practice	AZPML Foreign Office Architects
Buildings	Osanbashi Yokohama International Passenger Terminal
Projects	Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture

Bamboo Building in Madrid, built in 2007.

Birmingham New Street railway station, completed between 2007 and 2015.

Alejandro Zaera Polo is a famous architect from Spain. He is also a thinker about architecture. He started his own company called Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture (AZPML). Before this, he was in charge of the School of Architecture at Princeton University. He also led the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam.

Alejandro Zaera Polo's Career

Alejandro Zaera-Polo was born in Madrid, Spain, on October 17, 1963. He studied architecture at a top school in Madrid. Later, he earned a special master's degree in architecture from Harvard University in 1991. He finished with high honors.

Building Amazing Places

From 1991 to 1993, he worked at a design office called Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam. In 1993, he helped start a new company called Foreign Office Architects (FOA). This company created many cool buildings. They worked on projects in Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, and Spain.

In 2011, FOA closed down. Alejandro then started his own firm, Alejandro Zaera-Polo Architecture (AZPA). It was later renamed Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture (AZPML).

He has also given advice to the Quality Commission for Architecture in Barcelona. He has written articles for many architecture magazines around the world. His ideas have been published in well-known journals like El Croquis and A+U. In 2017, he was a co-director for the first Seoul Architecture Biennale.

Teaching and Leading

Alejandro Zaera-Polo has also had a big career in teaching. He was the Dean (head) of the School of Architecture at Princeton University from 2012 to 2014. He was also the Dean of the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam. He was the first person to hold the Norman Foster Visiting Professorship at Yale University.

Before these roles, he taught at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. He was also a guest teacher at other universities. These included University of California, Los Angeles, Columbia University in New York, and the Yokohama School of Architecture.

Cool Projects He Designed

Here are some of the amazing buildings and projects Alejandro Zaera-Polo has worked on.

With Foreign Office Architects (FOA)

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

With AZPML

• Birmingham New Street Redevelopment in Birmingham, UK (2015)
• Facilities for the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championship in Santander, Spain (2014)
• Locarno Palazzo del Cinema in Switzerland (2017)
• Fundacion Cerezales in Leon, Spain (2017)
• Pedestrian Bridge in Bellinzona, Switzerland (2019)
• Shenzhen Superheadquarters Green Axis in Shenzhen, China (2020)
• Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture in South Korea (2020-)

Awards and Honors

Alejandro Zaera-Polo has received many awards for his work. Here are some of them:

• 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)
• 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)
• Mario Pani Prize, Anahuac University, Mexico City (2021)

See also

In Spanish: Alejandro Zaera para niños