“Some Character in Search for an Author”

Wednesday, September 16, 5:00 p.m. est

Mosaic Associates Architects Lecture

EMPAC Theater

Rensselaer Architecture kicks off its fall 2026 lecture series this Wednesday, September 16th at 5p.m. est with the lecture “Some Character in Search for an Author” by Cecilia Puga of Cecilia Puga – Paula Velasco Arquitectura.

Cecilia Puga is co-director and co-founder of Cecilia Puga – Paula Velasco Arquitectura, a practice that connects independent professionals from various disciplines and specialties. Through international competitions, the studio has been in charge of the new headquarters of Chile’s Ministry of Cultures and Heritage, the infrastructure design project for Queulat National Park, and the master plan and preliminary project for Punta Arenas’ International Passenger Terminal. Recently, they obtained first place in a public competition to design The National Archive Building in Valparaiso, Chile.

Puga has developed her professional practice in Santiago since 1995, where she has carried out design projects at different scales and programs, from single-family homes—most notably the House in Bahia Azul, to collective housing, educational and industrial equipment, and urban design such as the renovation of public spaces in Cerro Toro. She has developed her academic activity at Universidad Católica de Santiago, ETH Zurich’s School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin, Harvard GSD, and Barcelona Institute of Architecture. Her work has been featured in several national and international specialized publications, including the 53rd issue of journal 2G which was dedicated to her work. Her office was one of the 100 offices around the world selected by Herzog & De Meuron to design a villa in Inner Mongolia, within the context of the Ordos 100 project, led by artist Ai Wei Wei.

We look forward to seeing you at this lecture.