Germán Pallares-Avitia is a registered Mexican architect and scholar. He holds a MArch from the Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya and a PhD in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. His research lies at the intersection of modernization, cultural relations, borders and politics in the context of Latin America and the US. Germán’s work is interdisciplinary, drawing on fields such as border, Chicano and gender studies, as well as environmental history and urbanism and explores post-colonial and decolonial concepts that refine understandings of territories, nations, identity and migration as they relate to architectural and urban conditions.
Germán’s research project @the_postborderzone examines the built environment of the borderlands as a series of sites in which residents often exchange places and have daily access to cultural, social and commercial activities across political divides. These spaces are where hybridized citizenship arises as a result of the resistance to and assimilation of imperialistic, nation-state and capitalist determinants. Currently, Germán hosts the podcast @fromthemarginspodcast, an open forum for intersectional conversations on topics of marginalization and oppression with researchers, artists, designers and activists who transgress the limits of cultural production through resistance, justice and liberation.
Germán was an SEI Research Fellow at RISD from 2021–23 and has taught both studio and history & Theory courses at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Lehigh University and Tec de Monterrey Campus Santa Fe in Mexico City, where he was chair of the architecture program and managed collaborative academic projects with international offices such as Zaha Hadid Architects and others. He has been a guest critic in México, Spain and the US and has collaborated with Legorreta Arquitectos as a project designer/manager on projects for the Aga Kahn Foundation.
These studios, three of which are required for graduation, are offered by individual instructors to students who have successfully completed the core curriculum. They are assigned by lottery. Once assigned to an advanced studio, a student may not drop studio.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $50.00 - $200.00
Fee: Some advanced studio sections have a fee for course supplies or field trips. The fee is announced during the registration lottery held in the department.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | BArch, MArch (3yr), MArch (2yr): Architecture
Spring 2025 Courses
LAEL 1005-01 - WORLD ARCHITECTURE: FROM PRE-HISTORY TO PRE-MODERN: IDEAS AND ARTIFACTS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitArchitecture
Subject Liberal Arts Elective
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
FormatLecture
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LAEL 1005-01
WORLD ARCHITECTURE: FROM PRE-HISTORY TO PRE-MODERN: IDEAS AND ARTIFACTS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitArchitecture
Subject Liberal Arts Elective
PeriodSpring 2025
Credits3
FormatLecture
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: T | 9:40 AM - 12:40 PMInstructor(s): German Pallares AvitiaLocation(s): Bayard Ewing Building, Room 106Enrolled / Capacity: 30Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This history of architecture course, co-taught by an architectural historian and an architect, introduces key ideas, forces, and techniques that have shaped world architecture through the ages prior to the modern period. The course is based on critical categories, ranging from indigenous and vernacular architecture, to technology, culture, and representation. The lectures and discussions present systems of thought, practice and organization, emphasizing both historical and global interconnectedness, and critical architectural differences and anomalies. Each topic will be presented through case studies accompanied by relevant texts. The students will be expected to engage in the discussion groups, prepare material for these discussions, write about, and be examined on the topics.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | BArch: Architecture, MArch: Architecture (3yr)
LAEL 1005-02 - WORLD ARCHITECTURE: FROM PRE-HISTORY TO PRE-MODERN: IDEAS AND ARTIFACTS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitArchitecture
Subject Liberal Arts Elective
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
FormatLecture
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LAEL 1005-02
WORLD ARCHITECTURE: FROM PRE-HISTORY TO PRE-MODERN: IDEAS AND ARTIFACTS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitArchitecture
Subject Liberal Arts Elective
PeriodSpring 2025
Credits3
FormatLecture
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: T | 9:40 AM - 12:40 PMInstructor(s): German Pallares AvitiaLocation(s): Bayard Ewing Building, Room 106Enrolled / Capacity: 30Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This history of architecture course, co-taught by an architectural historian and an architect, introduces key ideas, forces, and techniques that have shaped world architecture through the ages prior to the modern period. The course is based on critical categories, ranging from indigenous and vernacular architecture, to technology, culture, and representation. The lectures and discussions present systems of thought, practice and organization, emphasizing both historical and global interconnectedness, and critical architectural differences and anomalies. Each topic will be presented through case studies accompanied by relevant texts. The students will be expected to engage in the discussion groups, prepare material for these discussions, write about, and be examined on the topics.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | BArch: Architecture, MArch: Architecture (3yr)
