Beatriz Colomina
Beatriz Colomina is a Spanish-American architecture historian, theorist and curator. She is the founding director of the Program in Media and Modernity at Princeton University, the Howard Crosby Butler Professor of the History of Architecture and director of graduate studies in the School of Architecture.
Early life and education
Colomina is from Valencia and she began her initial studies of architecture in Technical university of Valencia. But she later moved to Escola Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona, Universidad Politécnica de Barcelona, to complete her education. Here, her interests in History, Theory & Urbanism were nurtured under the guidance of a group of teachers that included Josep Quetglas and Ignasi de Solà-Morales. Even as a student, she began working for the Department of History, Theory and Urbanism by translating two of Tafuri's writings, with an Italian friend. Shortly after her graduation, she was hired by the Department of Urbanism. Her acquaintance with Richard Sennett lead to a fellowship in New York Institute for the Humanities and she moved to the USA in 1981. The people she met at this interdisciplinary institute, like Carl Schorske, Susan Sontag and Wolfgang Schivelbusch had a major influence in her later work.Career
Colomina has built a multifaceted career by working extensively under the forums of academia, publishing and exhibitions.Academia
She began her teaching at the age of 23, in Barcelona immediately after her graduation. After a short break, during which she served the fellowship at the New York Institute for the Humanities, her teaching career continued when she moved to Columbia University in 1982. She later moved to Princeton University in 1988 and continues teaching there.Besides her role as a tenured professor, she has lectured extensively. She has lectured at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, the Architectural Institute of Japan, Guggenheim in NY, the Center for Contemporary Art and Architecture in Stockholm, the DIA Art Foundation in NY, Tate Britain in London, Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, ETH in Zurich, Delft University, Bauhaus University in Weimar, Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Lebanese American University, University of Beirut, and Seoul University. She serves on the advisory board of several institutions.
She was awarded the 2020 Ada Louise Huxtable Prize. Notable doctoral students of Colomina's include architectural historian Joanna Merwood-Salisbury.
Awards and fellowships
- 2020 Ada Louise Huxtable Prize
- 2007 Canadian Centre for Architecture Mellon Fellowship
- 2005 Princeton University President's Award for Distinguished Teaching
- 1995-1996 Samuel H. Kress Senior Fellowship at the CASVA
- 1987 Graham Foundation Grant
- SOM Foundation
- Le Corbusier Foundation
- The American Academy in Berlin and the Getty Center in Los Angeles
Publishing
Colomina has written about architecture and the modern institutions of representation, particularly the printed media, photography, advertising, film and TV. Her books have received recognitions including International Book Award by the American Institute of Architects for Sexuality and Space & Privacy and Publicity ''.Some of her early contributions to other publications include The Sex of Architecture, Dan Graham, Philip Johnson: The Constancy of Change, Domesticity at War, Cold War Hothouses, Raumplan Versus Plan Libre: Adolf Loos and Le Corbusier. She has authored numerous articles and has been on the editorial board of such periodicals as Assemblage, Daidalos'', and Grey Room.