Alejandro Valdivieso Royo

Alejandro Valdivieso is a Spanish architect whose work is based on a consistent theoretical insight of practice through the production of design, on the one hand, and scholarship on the other —bridging a wide array of topics; from design theories to the History of modern architecture (specifically, the intersections between building, pedagogy, politics and media in postmodern European and American architecture culture), or the urban history of the city of Madrid—. He develops his research through different formats and mediums: as an active practicing architect (principal and founder of the award-winning Madrid-based office VALDIVIESOARQUITECTOS); as writer and editor for several platforms (Co-Editor-in-Chief of Arquitectura magazine); and as an educator, currently an Assistant Professor of Architectural History and Theory at ETSAM UPM (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid). 

In its various formats, Valdivieso’s work has been presented, shared and published in Spain and internationally. Exploring the connections between History, Culture and building technology, recent built projects focus, for example, on low-carbon construction technology, domesticity, or critical conservation (adaptive reuse).

Lately, he has coedited the book Viviendas para el Patronato de Casas Militares / Dwellings for the Military Housing Trust. Fernando Higueras, Antonio Miró, Madrid 1966-1974 (ACTAR Publishers, Fundación COAM, 2024). He is a member of the Spanish Asociación de Historiadores de la Arquitectura y el Urbanismo (AhAU); member of the Editorial Board of its journal Varia for its three first issues (2019-2022) and member of its Scientific Committee since 2023. 

Corporate Experience

• Founder and Principal, VALDIVIESOARQUITECTOS, Madrid, Spain, 2012 – Present

• Editor-in-Chief Arquitectura, Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid (COAM), 2023 – Present

• Trained at Ábalos&Herreros, AS+ Ábalos+Sentkiewicz and Estudio Herreros, Madrid, Spain, 2005 – 2010

Academic Experience

• Assistant Professor of Architectural History and Theory, ETSAM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain, 2024 – Present

• Member of the Research Program ‘Teoría y Crítica del Proyecto y de la Arquitectura Moderna y Contemporánea’, ETSAM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain, 2022 – Present

• Adjunct Professor of Architectural History and Theory, ETSAM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain, 2018 – 2024

• Assistant Professor, Subject specialist e Cultore della Materia, Facoltà di Architettura di Alghero, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Italy, 2010 – 2011

• Other academic positions: Universidad Camilo José Cela; UDIT, Universidad de Diseño y Tecnología; Universidad Nebrija, Universidad Europea de Madrid

Academic Background

• Ph.D. in Architecture, ETSAM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain, 2021 

• Master in Design Studies (Fulbright Scholar), GSD, Harvard University, United States of America, 2016

• Licensed Architect. Professional Degree in Architecture (BArch and MArch), Escuela de Arquitectura, Universidad de Alcalá, Spain, 2008