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

The Bamboo Building in Madrid (2007).

Birmingham New Street railway station (2007–2015).

Alejandro Zaera Polo is a Spanish architect and 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 and the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam.

About Alejandro Zaera Polo's Career

Alejandro Zaera-Polo was born in Madrid, Spain, on October 17, 1963. He studied architecture at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid. Later, he earned a special master's degree in architecture from the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University in 1991.

Working as an Architect

From 1991 to 1993, he worked at a famous architecture firm called the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam. In 1993, he helped start his own company, Foreign Office Architects (FOA). This company designed buildings in many countries, including Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, and Spain.

In June 2011, after FOA closed, he started a new company. It was first called Alejandro Zaera-Polo Architecture (AZPA). Later, it was 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. These include El Croquis, Quaderns, A+U, and Harvard Design Magazine. In 2017, he was a co-director for the first Seoul Architecture Biennale.

Teaching Architecture

Alejandro Zaera-Polo has also had a long career teaching at universities. He was the Dean 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 visiting teacher at other universities, like the University of California, Los Angeles and Columbia University in New York.

Important Buildings and Projects

Projects with Foreign Office Architects (FOA)

• Ōsanbashi Pier, also known as Yokohama Terminal, in Yokohama, Japan (1995–2002). This is a large passenger terminal for ships.
• Bluemoon Hotel in Groningen, The Netherlands (1999–2000).
• Police headquarters in La Villajoyosa, Spain (2000-2003).
• Coastal park with outdoor auditoriums in Barcelona, Spain (2000-2004).
• Municipal Theatre in Torrevieja, Spain (2000-2006).
• La Rioja Technology Transfer Centre in Logrono, Spain (2003-2007).
• Bamboo Building, a social housing project in Madrid, Spain (2004-7).
• Spanish Pavilion at the 2005 International Expo in Aichi, Japan (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, Spain (2004–2009).
• New Street station in Birmingham, UK (2008–15).
• Ravensbourne college on the Greenwich Peninsula, London, UK (2005–2010).
• Trinity EC3 office complex in the City of London, UK (2003–).
• Mixed-use extension of West Quay II retail centre in Southampton, UK (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-).

Projects with Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture (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

Here are some of the awards Alejandro Zaera-Polo has received:

• 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