Juan Manuel Balsa (b. 1988) is an Argentine architect and educator, and co-founder and principal of Balsa Crosetto Piazzi, an award-winning architecture office based in Córdoba, Argentina and the US. He graduated from the School of Architecture, Urbanism, and Design at the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba (2012) and pursued a Master’s degree in Architectural Design at the Universidad de Navarra, in Spain (2017). In addition to teaching at RISD, he is an associate professor at the School of Architecture, Urbanism, and Design. He has also taught as at Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile and Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.

The work of Balsa Crosetto Piazzi is characterized by an interest in local construction techniques, precise geometries and a continuous exploration of radical typologies and hyper-local material and technical solutions. Through its innovative approach, the office has received numerous awards in both national and international design competitions, and its work has been exhibited at renowned biennales such as the Venice Biennale and the Ibero-American Architecture Biennial. In 2024, the office was awarded the FADEA Prize, one of the most prestigious accolades in Argentina, and in 2025, the office will be featured in the Latin American Architecture Biennale (BAL), a prestigious recognition for emerging architectural practices.

Notable achievements include first prize for the design and restoration of the National Argentine Bank’s historic headquarters in Buenos Aires, first prize for the IX Ibero-American Architecture and Urbanism Biennial pavilion and first prize for the design of Manuel Belgrano Square in Córdoba. Additionally, in 2023, the office was shortlisted for the design and curation of the Argentine pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale with the project Invisible Structures.