Luis E. Carranza named 2024 School of Architecture Commencement Speaker
Luis E. Carranza joins The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture to deliver the 2024 commencement address on Saturday, May 11.
An architect and historian whose research, work, and teaching focus on modern architecture and art in Latin America, Carranza is currently a Professor at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and Visiting Professor at Yale University’s School of Architecture. He obtained his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California and his Ph.D. in Architectural History and Theory from Harvard University. He teaches theoretically grounded design studios, the theory of architecture, the history of modern architecture, and seminars on modern architecture and art in Latin America.
“We are thrilled to welcome Luis Carranza to UT Austin and for our graduating students to hear from such an impactful voice as they embark on the next chapters of their lives,” said Heather Woofter, Dean of The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. “Our school has a rich history of engaging topics and architecture of ‘The Americas,’ and Carranza is one of the leading voices in modern architecture in Latin America.”
As a theorist and historian, Carranza’s work underscores how social, literary, philosophical, and theoretical ideas impact the conceptualization and materialization of architecture and design, with an emphasis on Mexico. Much of his research on these themes can be found throughout his publications, two of which have been published by The University of Texas Press. These include Architecture as Revolution: Episodes in the History of Modern Mexico (2010)—one of the first books in English to present a social and cultural history of early twentieth-century Mexican architecture—and Modern Architecture in Latin America: Art, Technology, Utopia, published with former UT School of Architecture faculty member Fernando Lara (2015).
Carranza’s current research addresses the radical work of the Mexican architect Carlos Lazo for Mexico’s Department of Communications and Public Works, including the design and production of “civilized caves” as new housing prototypes. He is also the co-curator of the Barragan Gallery at the Vitra Design Museum.
The School of Architecture commencement ceremony, headlined by Carranza’s address, will occur at 2:00 p.m. in the Hogg Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Seating is limited to those with tickets, but the ceremony will be live-streamed on the School of Architecture’s YouTube channel.
