Eva Franch i Gilabert (Catalonia 1978) is an architect, curator, critic and educator that works at the intersection of architecture, art, politics, pedagogy and public space.
Currently, Franch is a Visiting Lecturer at Princeton University School of Architecture and the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at the Cooper Union.
Franch has held the position of Director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, between 2010—2018, Chief Curator and Executive Director of Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York, between 2010-2018, and co-curator of the US Pavilion at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale. Franch is a licensed and registered architect in Spain since 2003 when she founded OOAA (Office of Architectural Affairs).
At the Architectural Association (2018-20), Franch obtained for the first time in the history of the institution Taught Degree Awarding Powers, relaunched AA Publications including AA Files and launched the Student Care Center, the Writing Center, the Careers Office and the Hardship Fund to support student life and wellbeing, among many other initiatives including the Expanding Horizons campaign, offering for the first time full scholarships across all programmes to deserving students across the globe. Under her tenure the AA launched the Speculative Studies department and the Experimental Programme as part of a new Academic Framework. New pedagogical initiatives introduced by Franch include the Open Tutorials and the Open Seminars, a series of forums for learning and debate across the school. Franch brought together a diverse set of international voices across disciplines through the Diploma and Experimental units and the public programmes. The New Canonical Histories (2018-20) and the Architecture in Translation (2020) project, aimed to break hegemonic ideas about architectural discourse and practice. In autumn 2019, Franch launched the AA Residence, an externally funded research and cultural platform to develop new ideas and forms of practice at the intersection of architecture, art, technology, policy and design with the AA Wood Lab and the AA Ground Lab.
During her tenure as director of Storefront, Franch initiated Letters to the Mayor -a project that invites architects to write letters to their city mayors as a way to open up dialogue about the making of cities and public life with more than twenty editions globally including New York, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Athens, Taipei, Madrid-; World Wide Storefront – a digital platform for alternative global projects, the Competition of Competitions, and Manifesto, a publication series in partnership with Lars Müller. Selected exhibitions curated by Franch include Architecture books: Yet to be Written; Sharing Models; Measure; POP: Protocols, Obsessions, Positions; Aesthetics-Anesthetics; Past Futures, Present, Futures; No Shame: Storefront for Sale; and Being. Exhibitions under Franch’s directorship include: Subculture: Microbial Metrics and the Multi-Species City, Marching On: The Politics of Performance, and Closed Worlds: the architecture of . Other projects launched
______Cooper Union / 2021 Eva Franch i Gilabert / CV 3/9 by Franch include the New York Architecture Book Fair, Storefront TV, and the Storefront International Series with editions in the Dominican Republic, Portugal, and Hong Kong.
In 2014, Franch, together with a curatorial and design team and more than 300 collaborators, was selected by the US State Department to represent the United States at the XIV Venice Architecture Biennale (2014) with the project OfficeUS, an experiment for the making of new histories and global architecture practice.
Franch has directed the Thesis Studios at The Cooper Union and Rice University School of Architecture and taught seminars and design studios at Princeton University, Columbia University GSAPP, the IUAV University of Venice, SUNY Buffalo, and Rice University School of Architecture.
Franch has lectured internationally on architecture, pedagogy and curatorial practices, and the importance of alternative visions and initiatives in the construction and understanding of public life. She has lectured at educational and cultural institutions including the Arts Club of Chicago, Hong Kong University, IAAC in Barcelona, Izolatsia in Kiev, Kuwait University, the Museum of Fine Arts in Sydney, Oslo School of Architecture, Princeton University, San Francisco Art Institute, Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam, School of Visual Arts in New York, SCI-Arc in Los Angeles, Tokyo University, University of Manitoba, UT Sidney, the World Around, the World Architecture Forum, the World Urban Forum, and Yale University among others.
Franch has received the Reyner Banham Fellowship, the Wortham Fellowship, a Schloss Solitude Fellowship and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Graham Foundation and the US State Department. She has received numerous awards and her work has been exhibited internationally including the Venice Architecture Biennale, FAD Barcelona, and the Shenzhen Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, among others. Franch has been named one of the Power 100 people by Surface magazine in 2014, one of the 1000 most influential people in London by the Evening Standard in 2018, and received the Architect of the Year T-Spain Design Award by The New York Times in 2019. Franch has curated international projects including OUT, the 2014 Arquia Próxima biennial competition, and Borders, the 2011 Think Space biennial concept competition programme.
Franch has been part of international competition juries and member of several nominating and advisory boards including the Future Architecture Platform, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Hong Kong Design Trust, and the New Museum / Ideas City among others, and serves as a non-executive Board Member in cultural and educational organizations around the world.
Franch’s work has appeared in the form of articles and interviews in magazines, newspapers and publications including AD, Architecture Record, Architectural Review, Arquine, Bauwelt, Bazar, Deezen, Domus, Dwell, El País, La Vanguardia, Metropolis, Mousse Magazine, PIN-UP, Rolling Stone, Surface Magazine, The Evening Standard, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Observer, among others. Publications by Franch include Agenda (Lars Muller, 2014), Atlas (Lars Muller, 2015) and Manual (Lars Muller 2017), all published as part of the ongoing research for collective practice, OfficeUS.
______Cooper Union / 2021 Eva Franch i Gilabert / CV 4/9 Education 2007 MArch Princeton University - with Honors -Suzanne Kolarik Underwood Prize -Howard Crosby Butler Fellowship
2003 MArch Etsa Barcelona – UPC - with Honors -Dragados Foundation Prize for PFC/Graduation Projects
2001-02 Erasmus Exchange Program - TU Delft
Professional Experience 2021- Adjunct Associate Professor, Cooper Union. USA 2021- Visiting Lecturer, Princeton University, Princeton. USA. 2018-2020 Director, Architectural Association, London. UK. 2018- Distinguished Professor at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Art. China. 2010-2018 Executive Director and Chief Curator, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York. 2017-18 Associate Professor Adjunct. The Cooper Union. New York. US. 2014 Visiting Professor. Università Iuav de Venezia Italy. EU. 2008-10 Visiting Wortham Fellow at Rice University School of Architecture. Houston. US. 2007-08 Peter Reyner Banham Fellow. State University of New York SUNY at Buffalo. US. 2003- OOAA (Office of Architectural Affairs). Barcelona, Spain. Founder and Principal. 2003-04 Claus en Kaan Architecten. Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Project Designer and Head of Competitions.
Lectures / Conferences/ Talks 7. 2020 Shanghai-On Line. Digital Futures. Architecture Deans Round Panel. 3. 2020 Los Angeles. Sci-Arc. Lecture. 2. 2020 Barcelona. Elisava School of Design. Lecture. 1. 2020 New York. The World Around. Lecture. 12. 2019 Amsterdam. World Architecture Forum. Lecture. 11. 2019 Saint Petersburg. World Urban Forum. Lecture. 10. 2019 Seville. University of Andalusia. Lecture. 9. 2019 Tokyo. University of Tokyo. Lecture. 2. 2019 Cambridge. University of Cambridge. Lecture. 11.2018 Beijing. CAFA. Lecture in Architecture Deans Conference.
______Cooper Union / 2021 Eva Franch i Gilabert / CV 5/9 7. 2018 Moscow. World Urban Forum. Lecture. 5. 2018 Shanghai. Art City. Lecture. 4. 2018 Prague. UPAM. Lecture. 3. 2018 Buffalo. State University of New York at Buffalo. Lecture. 11.2017 Sydney. Lloyd Rees Lecture. Museum of Contemporary Art. Lecture. 11. 2017 Brisbane. Institute of Contemporary Art. Lecture. 9. 2017 Chicago. Association of Architecture Organizations. Lecture. 6. 2017 Lucerne. Interior Architecture Symposium. Lecture. 4. 2017 Aarhus. School of Architecture. Lecture. 2.2017 Vienna. OAT. Lecture. 2. 2017 Havana. Friends of La Havana Symposium. Lecture. 11. 2016 Barcelona. International Conference. Lecture. 11. 2016 London. Royal College of Arts. Lecture. 10. 2016 Leeds. International Conference on Architecture Competitions. Keynote Lecture. 9. 2016 Shanghai. Shanghai Project Inaugural Panel. 7. 2016 Hong Kong. Design Trust Talks. Think Tank. 7. 2016 Taichung. Mayoral Panel. Talk. 6. 2016 Barcelona. Mies Van Der Rohe Foundation. Talk. 5. 2016 Berlin, Fights and Fictions. Keynote Lecture. 5. 2016 Chicago, Vectorworks Design Summit. Keynote Lecture. 4. 2016 Mexico City, Mextropolis Festival. Lecture. 2. 2016 Boston Architecture College. Lecture. 1. 2016 Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University. Lecture. 1. 2016 Taipei, JUT Foundation. Lecture. 11. 2015 New Haven, Yale School of Architecture Open House. Lecture. 10. 2015 Boston, Northeastern University. Lecture. 08. 2015 Kiev, Ukraine. Izolatsia. Lecture. 06. 2015 Minneapolis, Eyeo conference. Lecture. 04. 2015 Chicago. The Arts Club of Chicago. Lecture. 03. 2015 Amsterdam. Sandberg Institute. Lecture. 02. 2015 San francisco. San Francisco Art Institute. Lecture. 02. 2015 Manitoba. University of Manitoba. Lecture. 01. 2015 Shanghai. Study Center. Lecture. 01. 2015 Hong Kong. Hong Kong University. Lecture. 07. 2014 Venice. IUAV. Lecture. 02. 2014 New York. D-Crit / SVA School of Visual Arts. Lecture. 02. 2014 New York. Cooper Union. Lecture.
______Cooper Union / 2021 Eva Franch i Gilabert / CV 6/9 04. 2014 Barcelona. IAAC. Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. Lecture. 03. 2014 Panama City. Panama. Lecture. 02. 2014 London, Tate Modern; “If you Build it, Will they Come?”. Respondent. 02. 2014 London. The Architectural Association. Lecture. 02. 2014 Oslo. Oslo School of Architecture. Lecture. 01. 2014 London. The Architectural Association. Lecture. 11. 2013 Washington DC. Phillips Collection. Panel Discussion. 11. 2013 Urbana-Champaign. Keynote Lecture. 09. 2013 New Haven. Yale University. Symposium Exhibiting Architecture. Lecture. 09. 2013 Los Angeles. SCI-ARC. Commencement Speech to the graduating class of 2013. 06. 2013 Santo Domingo. University of Santo Domingo. “Yes is NO”. Lecture. 05. 2013 Ljubljana. Museum of Arts. Lecture. 04. 2013 Copenhagen. DAC, Danish Architecture Center. Lecture and Panel Discussion. 04. 2013 Kuwait City. Kuwait. Lecture. 02. 2013 Maracaibo. Venezuela. Lecture. 02. 2013 Ithaca. Cornell University. Lecture. 09.2012 Warsaw. Poland. Lecture. 06.2012 Mexico City, Mexico. Lecture. 12.2011 Sydney. TU Sydney. Symposium. 10.2011 New York. Bronx Museum. The Architecture Gameshow with Pedro Reyes. Performance. 08.2011 New York. Columbia University. “Neutral Utopias”. Lecture. 08. 2011 Yokohama. Design Triennial. Lecture. 07. 2011 Istanbul. Turkey. DEPO space. Lecture. 07. 2011 Thessaloniki, Greece. Lecture. 03.2011 New York. MAD Museum. Panel discussion. 02. 2011 University of Virginia. Michael Owens Jones Memorial Lecture. 01. 2011 Oslo. Norway. Lecture. 12. 2010 New York. Cooper Union. Lecture. 03. 2010 Houston. Insider Trading lecture Series. Rice School of Architecture. Lecture. 11. 2009 Guadalajara. GDL Intensa at the Museo de la Ciudad, Gudalajara, Mexico. Panel. 01. 2008 Columbus. Knowlton School of Architecture. Lecture. 03. 2007 Kuwait City. “Sources of architectural form” Kuwait. Lecture.
Honours / Achievements 2019. Madrid, New York Times / T - Magazine Spain - Architect of the Year Award 2019. Barcelona, UPC - Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya Alumni of the Year Award 2018. New York, Citation by the American Institute of Architects AIA-New York
______Cooper Union / 2021 Eva Franch i Gilabert / CV 7/9 2016. Nominated for the National Design Award “Design Mind” by the Cooper Hewitt 2009. Stuttgart. Akademie Schloss Solitude Fellow. 2008-10. Houston. Wortham Fellowship. Rice University. 2007-08. Buffalo. Peter Reyner Banham Fellowship. University at Buffalo. SUNY. 2007. Princeton. Suzanne Kolarik Underwood Prize. School of Architecture at Princeton University. 2006. Barcelona. Emerging Architect FAD 2006-2007. 2006. Princeton. Howard Crosby Butler Travelling Fellowship. 2005-07. Barcelona. La Caixa Fellowship. 2004. Barcelona. Dragados Foundation Prize
Grants and Funded Research 2019. Chicago, Graham Foundation Grant. Architecture in Translation. AA 2018. Washington, DC. National Endowment for the Arts Grant. Marching on: The Politics of Performance. SFAA 2017. Chicago, Graham Foundation. Marching on: The Politics of Performance. SFAA 2015. Chicago, Graham Foundation. World Wide Storefront. SFAA 2015. Washington DC. National Endowment for the Arts Grant. Architecture Conflicts Project. SFAA 2014. Washington DC. Council on Library and Information Resources. Hidden Collections Grant. Creation and digitization of the Storefront Archive. SFAA 2014. Washington DC. US State Department. Open competition for the curation of the Us Pavilion at the Venice architecture Biennale. SFAA 2012. Chicago, Graham Foundation. Critical History Project. SFAA 2010. Washington DC. National Endowment for the Arts Grant for the exhibition Past Futures, Present Futures. SFAA
Non Executive and Ex-Officio roles 2019- Advisory Board Member. Future Architecture Platform. European Union. 2020- Board of Directors. Casa Congo. Nicaragua. 2018- Director’s Group. Storefront for Art and Architecture. New York. 2010-18 Member of the Executive Committee. New Museum / Ideas City Festival. New York. US.
Competition Juries and Public Service 2020. Dezeen Awards Jury. Global / On-Line 2020. KPF Traveling Fellowship Jury. Global / On-Line 2019. British Council Jury for the UK Pavilion for the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale. London. UK 2018. Natian Cup Competition Jury. Wuhan. China 2018. RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects - Silver Medal Award Jury. London. UK 2017. Ayuntamiento de Madrid. Jury Member for the Directorship of Medialab Prado. Spain. EU
______Cooper Union / 2021 Eva Franch i Gilabert / CV 8/9 2017. Times Square Arts Curatorial Committee Member. New York. USA 2016. Harvard University. Jury Member of the Wheelwright Prize. Boston. USA 2015. School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Juror 2015 MFA Fellowship. Chicago. USA 2014. Eyebeam Artist in Residence Juror. New York, USA 2012-17. Nominating Panellist, MoMA, Young Architects, PS 1 Competition. New York, USA 201416. Nominating Panellist, Princess Margriet Award, European Cultural Foundation. EU 2011. The Headlands, Artist in Residence, Nominating Panellist. San Francisco. USA 2013. Art Prize Juror, Grand Rapids, Michigan. USA 2012. Juror Konsthall Tornedalen. Sweden. EU 2012. Juror Arqui Próxima. Madrid. Spain. EU 2012. 72 Hours of Urban Action Juror. Stuttgart. Germany. EU 2011. Creative Place Juror. Grand Rapids, Michigan. USA
Selected Teaching 2017-18. Arch 151-A-B Fifth Year BArch Thesis Studio Director. Cooper Union. New York, US. 2017. Arch 485. MSc Graduate Seminar in Theory, History and Criticism of Architecture. Cooper Union. New York, US. 2014. Arc 501 Design Studio. Wave Summer Programme. IUAV. Venice, Italy. 2013. ARCHA6453 Graduate Seminar. Corporate Avant Garde: or how to run the best architecture office ever. GSAPP. Columbia University. New York, US. 2008-2010. ARC 702 MArch Thesis. Studio. Rice University. Houston, US. 2009. ARC 608 Graduate Seminar. Performing Representations. Rice University. Houston, US. 2010. ARC 302/402 Vertical Design Studio. Atmospheres of Utopia. Rice University. Houston, US. 2009. ARC 302/402 Vertical Design Studio. Ecologies of Excess. Rice University. Houston, US. 2008. ARC 602 Graduate Seminar. Political Sensoriums. Seminar. SUNY Buffalo. US. 2008/2009. ARC 597 Graduate Seminar. Utopia as Doubt. SUNY Buffalo and Rice University. US.
Juries Franch has been a guest juror at hundreds of studios, reviews and panels at universities worldwide.
Professional Affiliations and Licensure 2003- Col.legi Oficial d’Arquitectes de Catalunya. Barcelona, Spain, Registered Architect. Member of the COAC (Official College of Architects of Catalonia).
2003- Bureau Architectenregister; The Netherlands; Registered Architect. Member of the “Stichting Bureau Architecture Register SBA” , the Dutch Official College of Architects.
______Cooper Union / 2021 Eva Franch i Gilabert / CV 9/9