Fernando Lara

Fernando Luiz Lara is a Brazilian-born architect, academic, and author. He is a professor of Architecture at the Weitzman School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania. Biography and Career Born in Brazil, He continued his education at Federal University of Minas Gerais and completed Master of Science in 1996. In 2023, Lara joined the University of Pennsylvania as Professor of Architecture at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.

He serves as editor of Latin America: Thoughts, a book series published by Romano Guerra Editora. He is also a member of the editorial boards of Platform Space, Revista Dearq (Universidad de los Andes), and Critical Productive.

Scholarship

Lara’s scholarship focuses on architecture, urbanism, and the built environment of the Americas, drawing on decolonial approaches to spatial history and architectural theory. His publications include The Rise of Popular Modernist Architecture in Brazil (2008), Modern Architecture in Latin America (with Luis Carranza, 2015), Excepcionalidad del Modernismo Brasileño (2019), Street Matters: A Critical History of 20th Century Urban Policy in Brazil (with Ana Paula Koury, 2022), and Spatial Theories for the Americas (2024).

The Rise of Popular Modernist Architecture in Brazil was reviewed by Adrian Forty in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. Modern Architecture in Latin America has been reviewed in several academic and professional journals, including the Hispanic American Historical Review, Bitácora and Architectural Record.

He has also edited several volumes, including Decolonizing the Spatial History of the Americas (2022) and Spatial Concepts for Decolonizing the Americas (with Felipe Hernandez, 2023). , Naudain Art Collaborative , A-Space, the Philadelphia Sketch Club, and the Kubitschek Museum.