Luis De Garrido (Spain) has a PhD in Architecture (UPV, Spain), a PhD in Computer Engineering (MIT, USA), a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning (UPC, Spain), and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Design (Milano, Italy).
He is a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), President of the National Association for Sustainable Architecture (ANAS), President of the National Association for Housing of the Future (ANAVIF), Executive President of International Federation for Sustainable Architecture (IFSA), and Director of the Master in Sustainable Architecture (M.A.S.), in Spain.
Luis de Garrido has a long career in sustainable architecture for over 20 years, and one of its objectives is focused on the formalization of a new paradigm in architecture. A truly sustainable architecture that can meet the physical, economic and spiritual needs of our society, and kept perfectly integrated in the life cycles of Nature. A self-sufficient architecture capable to solve environmental problems only with proper architectural decisions, minimizing their dependence on technology and its dependence on the capitalist economic system.
As a result, has experimented with new compositional strategies, new architectural typologies, new building solutions, new materials, new technologies, new constructive strategies ... that, together, make the syntax of a new architectural language.
Luis De Garrido has received several awards, among which is the "Model Project for Humanity Award”, by the Commissioner of the Expo 2000 in Hannover (Germany), for his building “Actio Environmental Resources Complex”. He also received the "2008 Architect of the Year Award" by the International Steel Building Association (ISBA), in collaboration with the AIA (United States) for being considered one of the most innovative architects involved in sustainable architecture and modular architecture. He received this award due to his extensive career in Sustainable Architecture, for its continuous commitment to training and outreach, and his conceptual architectural proposal "R4House" (Reason-Recover-Reuse-Recycle). He received the "Racimo 2009 Architecture Award” (Spain), for being one of the most innovative architects of Spain. Also he received, when he was 39, the "Thirty Nine Award", from Los Angeles University (USA), as one of the 39 world's leading architects, under 39.
Up to now there have been 13 exhibitions about his architectural work in different countries. He has also curated the best and most complete exposition of Sustainable Architecture, which has been carried out internationally. This is the exhibition "Towards Other Architectures: 24 Sustainable Projects”, in Fundación Canal, Madrid (Spain) in 2010, where 24 projects of some of the best architects in the world, committed to sustainable architecture, where exhibited.
He has taught at 27 universities from 13 countries, and has lectured in 25. He has published 13 books and has written over 100 articles on various subjects, among which include: Sustainable architecture, Self-sufficient Architecture, Industrialized Architecture, Modular architecture, Bioclimatic architecture, Sustainable urban planning, Urban space-recycling, Architecture for happiness, Intelligent Buildings, Multimedia Architecture, Artificial intelligence, Eco-Design, Creative Design, Advertising Design, Food, Longevity, Healthy Habitats, Natural Hazards prevention, Creativity, Astrophysics, Speech, Psychology, Human Evolution, Evolution design, Graphology, Psychological Analysis of Personality, Anthropology, and Sociology.
Among his works we must mention:
- "La Llum Skyscraper", finalist in the "Ground Zero" competition, in Manhattan (USA)
- “Geoda 2055”. Self-sufficient City, in Mondragón (Spain)
- “I-Sleep Eco-Hotel”. Sustainable low-cost Hotel chain (built in many places of Europe: Saragossa, Barcelona, Milano, Rome,… The first hotel was built during the Expo 2008 in Saragossa (Spain)
- “Actio”. Sustainable Environmental and resource center for rural tourism (considered as "Model Project for Humanity”, by the Commissioner of the Expo 2000 in Hannover), in Valencia (Spain)
- “Berimbau”. Telecommunications Tower for the Olympic Games of Rio de Janeiro 2016 (self-sufficient in energy, water and food), in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- “Vert Moulin Rouge”, in Paris (France)
- “Casas del Rio Restaurant”. Self-sufficient restaurant, in Valencia (Spain)
- “Ecopolis”. Self-sufficient City, in Valencia (Spain)
- “Lliri Blau”. Sustainable Housing development, in Valencia (Spain)
- “Sayab”. Social Sustainable Housing development, in Cali (Colombia)
- “Bio-Tecnopolis”. Self-sufficient City, in Cali (Colombia)
- “Eco-Terranova”. Self-sufficient City, in Cali (Colombia)
- “Neopolis”, Social Sustainable Housing Skyscraper, in Mexico D.F. (Mexico)
- “GAIA Project”. The 7 most advanced houses in Spain
- “Ramat Eco-house”. Self-sufficient house (in water, energy and food), in Valencia (Spain)
- “Anonymous Eco-house”, a global self-sufficient and self-constructed house
- “Gaia-7”. Self-sufficient and self-constructed house, in Valencia (Spain)
- “Vitrohouse”. Self-sufficient house, entirely made by glass, in Barcelona (Spain)
- “R4House”. Self-sufficient house, exclusively made by waste and containers, in Barcelona (Spain)
- “Green Box” (considered as the best reference in sustainable architecture). Self-sufficient green house made by green, in Barcelona (Spain)
… and many other reference models for sustainable architecture around the world.
Luis de Garrido has matured in recent years a new innovative paradigm in architecture, calling it as "Artificial Nature Architecture": an artificial ecological system that has its own rules, and develops in parallel with the natural ecological system. Immersed in this artificial ecosystem, Luis De Garrido has signed a new architecture paradigm able to use a set of industrial architectural elements, ideal for creating buildings that have an infinite life cycle, y whose components can be recovered, repaired and reused in a continuous and permanent way, without producing waste and emissions. Similarly, these buildings can continuously grow, move, relocate and biodegrade, like living organisms. They have a really very low energy consumption, and the energy consumed has a naturally occurring (solar and geothermal, which is the same energy used by Nature organisms).
In other words, Luis De Garrido has identified a universe of man-made artifacts, with its own ecological laws, and above all, integrating it with Nature. A new paradigm as a result of human activity perfectly integrated into the Nature cycles. In short, Luis De Garrido is creating "Artificial Nature".
Based on this, Luis De Garrido has performed over 300 projects, which establishes him as a global benchmark in architecture.
