B.Arch., Cornell, 1994; M.Arch., 1995; Ph.D. in Architecture, M.I.T., 2002.
Jorge Otero-Pailos is an architect, historian and theorist specialized in experimental forms of preservation. His research and work rethinks preservation as a powerful countercultural practice that creates alternative futures for our world heritage. He is the Founder and Editor of the journal Future Anterior, the first American peer-reviewed scholarly journal to be devoted to the history theory and criticism of historic preservation. His recent book Architecture's Historical Turn: Phenomenology and the Rise of the Postmodern (University of Minnesota Press, 2010) traces the intellectual origins of postmodern architectural theory. His current research project probes the manner in which the advent of large-scale environmental pollution changed how architects understood the nature of architecture and its history.
Professor Otero-Pailos is a graduate of Cornell University and has an architecture degree and Ph.D. from M.I.T. His works and articles have been featured in international publications such as Artforum, Architectural Record, AA Files, Volume, The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, The Journal of Architectural Education, Architectural Record, Postmodern Culture, Byggekunst, Il Progetto, Il Giornale Dell’Architettura, BAU, Archivos de Arquitectura Antillana, City, and others. His installations have also been exhibited in Manifesta7: The European Contemporary Art Biennial (2008), and will be shown at the 53rd Venice Art Biennial (2009).
His works and articles have been featured in international publications such as Artforum, Art in America, Modern Painters, Architectural Record, AA Files, Volume, The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, The Journal of Architectural Education, Architectural Record, Postmodern Culture, Byggekunst, Il Progetto, Il Giornale Dell’Architettura, BAU, Archivos de Arquitectura Antillana, City, and others.
Otero-Pailos teaches core courses such as The Theory and Practice of Historic Preservation, and The History of American Architecture II. He also teaches seminars and workshops that critically explore topics in architectural history and theory such authenticity, phenomenology, and interpretation.
He serves as vice-president of DoCoMoMo US , an international organization devoted to the preservation of Modern architecture. Prior to joining Columbia, Otero-Pailos was Assistant Professor of Architecture and a founding member of the New School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. He has received grants, fellowships and awards from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Institute of Latin American Studies, Columbia University, Society of Architectural Historians, Opler Fellowship for Emerging Scholars, Canadian Center for Architecture, American Scandinavian Foundation, M.I.T., and the New York State Council on the Arts: Architecture Planning and Design Program, Henry Luce Foundation.
Architecture’s Historical Turn: Phenomenology and the Rise of the Postmodern, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010).
Spain on Spain, edited by Jorge Otero-Pailos, (Madrid: Editorial Rueda, 2008).
Selected Commentaries:
Daniela Zyman and Eva Ebersberger editors, Jorge Otero-Pailos: The Ethics of Dust, (Köln: Walther König, 2009).
David Gissen, Subnature: Architecture’s Other Environments (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2009).
Selected Grants, Fellowships and Awards:
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Individual Grant, 2009; Samuel H. Kress Foundation, The Practice of Conservation Grant, 2008; Institute of Latin American Studies, Columbia University, Individual Grant, 2007; Society of Architectural Historians, Opler Fellowship for Emerging Scholars, 2007; Post-Doctoral Fellow, Canadian Center for Architecture, 2005; Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, 2004; Post-Doctoral Fellow, American Scandinavian Foundation, 2004; Lawrence B. Anderson, MIT Alumni Award, 2004; New York State Council on the Arts: Architecture Planning and Design Program, Independent Project Award, 2003; Henry Luce Foundation, Dissertation Research Award, 2000; Schlossman Dissertation Fellowship, 2000; Hyzen Dissertation Award, 2000; Angel Ramos Foundation Research Grant, 1995.
