Maria Gonzalez Aranguren

Education

Master of Advanced Studies on Research, The Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid
Master of Architecture, The Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid
Bachelor of Architecture, The Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid

Biography

María González Aranguren (Madrid, 1988) is architect and urban planner who graduated in Master degree in The Technical University of Architecture of Madrid (NAAB Substantial Equivalency Accreditation), with Honorable Mention in 2014. She obtained the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship in Technische Universität Berlin for one year and she received a Postgraduate Master in Advanced Architectural Projects to complement her knowledge in Architectural Theory. She spent a year teaching graduate students who were completing their Master Thesis Projects at The Technical University of Madrid as a “mentor” professor. In January 2018, María joined the faculty at University of Virginia’s School of Architecture in a lecturer position.

During this time, she has combined teaching with professional practice in the renowned office A&G (Aranguren & Gallegos architects), where she began working in 2010 in national and international projects, including the ICA New Contemporary Art Museum in Miami, the “Oak House” or the new Housing Towers of Valdebebas.

María González Aranguren's research addresses the regeneration of degraded urban fabrics caused by social, climatic, or catastrophic factors. She has won numerous awards for her urban research on the rehabilitation of the Alfama district of Lisbon, including the 2018 AIA Unbuilt Washington Award of Excellence, the BSA Design Award, the SARA Award, the 2019 Global Future Design Award, Architecture Masterprize 2019, the 31st World Architecture Prize or Eurasian Prize among others. Her most recent research focuses on minimal domestic space where she investigates new ways of living in the 21st century. She explores the limits of domesticity, comparing housing types across different realms from college dormitories to nomadic units to prison cells.