The University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning (SAP) is hosting renowned Mexican architect Alberto Kalach, at the school’s auditorium on Friday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m.
Architecture Department Chair John Quale announced Kalach will serve as the jury chair and speaker for the Jeff Harnar Award for Contemporary Architecture and the Jeff Harnar Award for Unbuilt Design.
Kalach is an award-winning contemporary architect. He is the principal of Taller De Arquitectura “X” in Mexico City. Kalach was born in Mexico City, and studied architecture at the Universidad Iberoamericana. In addition to his extraordinary career in architecture, he has taken on a complex problem of urban planning in his home city. He is interested in addressing the lakes in Mexico City, with the aspiration to restore them to a healthy state, allowing for reforestation.
The awards presentation and lecture will be held on Feb. 28, 2020 at 5 p.m. at SA+P’s Garcia Honda Auditorium located in George Pearl Hall. The jury of architects and designers will select the winners that morning, and they will be announced at the awards presentation. This free event is open to the public, and there will be a reception after the lecture and award ceremony.
The Jeff Harnar Awards are prestigious in the architecture profession and offer one of the top prize amounts in the country. The award honors the late Jeff Harnar, known for his groundbreaking design in contemporary architecture in New Mexico. The winner of the Contemporary Architecture Award will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Submissions for the 2020 Jeff Harnar Award for Contemporary Architecture must be submitted by an architect or architectural firm for a building completed in New Mexico in the last five years. The architect or firm do not need to be from New Mexico. Submissions for the Jeff Harnar Award for Unbuilt Design must be designed by an architect, landscape architecture, designer, or student while the individual or team were living in New Mexico, but the design can be sited anywhere. Last year the Unbuilt Architecture award went to a team of undergraduate architecture students.
The Harnar awards and program are organized by John Quale, Chair of the UNM Department of Architecture, and sponsored by the Thornburg Foundation, which has supported the award since 2007.