Profile
Jesús Vassallo's scholarship bridges a wide array of topics from the theory of design and representation to construction materials—in particular, cross-laminated timber and other low-embodied-carbon technologies. His Houston-based practice focuses on housing as the key to understanding the relationship between architectural form and urban space, an area that is often understudied yet so fundamental to both architecture and quality of life more broadly. He has also practiced internationally, including in the office of Mansilla + Tuñón Arquitectos in Madrid. His built works and designs have been published and exhibited broadly, including in the Venice and Chicago biennials. His articles appear in magazines such as El Croquis, AA Files, 2G, Log, Harvard Design Magazine, Domus, and Arquitectura Viva.
Vassallo’s books focus on the study of realism in architecture. He is the author of Seamless: Digital Collage and Dirty Realism in Contemporary Architecture, Epics in the Everyday: Photography, Architecture, and the Problem of Realism. His most recent publication, Nueva Vivienda: New Housing Paradigms in Mexico, stems from a symposium he organized on new Mexican housing and is part of a concerted effort to build scholarly bridges and exchanges with this Latin American country.