Elvira Peña, Juan

Architect (ETSAM, 1997). Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design (MSAAD, 2000) from Columbia University, New York, supported by a La Caixa Foundation scholarship. PhD in Architecture (ETSAM, 2014, Cum Laude). His doctoral dissertation, Ghost Architecture. Space and the Production of Environmental Effects, received the First Honourable Mention in the Arquia/Tesis Award (2015) and was shortlisted for the Ibero-American Architecture Biennial in 2016.

With extensive teaching experience in Architectural Design, he is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architectural Design at ETSAM and teaches in the Master’s Programme in Advanced Architectural Design (MPAA). He has also taught at the University of Alicante, where he presented his research project Tactical Spaces at the ArchiLab’02 Forum in Orléans, France. In addition, he has been a visiting professor at several national and international institutions, including the International University of Catalonia (UIC, 2006), NTNU Trondheim (2010), the Istituto Europeo di Design (2013), the School of Architecture of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (2011), Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla (2015), and Universidad San Francisco de Quito (2015).

As a critic and editor, Juan Elvira is the author of numerous books, book chapters, and articles published in specialized journals and publications. His academic activity includes lectures and presentations at seminars and conferences organized by national and international institutions. He is co-author of Living 100 Years (Vivir 100 Años), awarded First Prize at the Spanish Architecture Biennial Awards (BAE) in 2016. He is also a member of the international research group Atmospheric Spaces. Aura Stimmung Ambiance.

Together with Clara Murado, he founded and directs the architectural practice Murado & Elvira. Their projects and built works have received national and international awards and have been exhibited in venues including the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Spanish Architecture Biennial (BAE), Archipaper, EXPORT, and FreshMadrid. Among their most notable works, the Teknobyen Student Residence in Norway received the Trondheim Energy Efficiency Award and was shortlisted for the Norwegian National Architecture Award. More recently, the Baiona Library was nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.