Building Bonds
A lecture from architect Gloria Cabral
Thursday, November 16, 6pm
Betts Auditorium, School of Architecture
Gloria Cabral is a Paraguayan-Brazilian architect, who believes architecture is both a tool to transform reality and a way to shape societies, and that material is a conduit to compose experiences. Cabral is skilled in giving new life to existing elements. This is evident in her works, such as the Teleton Children’s Rehabilitation Center, in which the deconstructed materials of an existing building are reused into new forms to meet the demands of the center, and in the Fundación Texo, a project that dismantled the inner walls of a house to make room for a new art gallery.
For 17 years, she was a partner of Gabinete de Architectura. From 2014 to 2015, she was a mentee under Peter Zumthor through the Rolex Mentor and Protégé program. In 2016, Cabral won a Gold Lion award at the Venice Architecture Biennale for “Breaking the Siege,” an impressive installation composing a soaring vault in conventional brick. Her work was also recognized in 2018 by The Architecture Review and by The Architects’ Journal with the Moira Gemmill Prize; and in 2021, she received the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture from the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine.
She previously studied architecture at La Universidad Nacional de Asunción, where she was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate. Cabral has lectured at numerous institutions including The Cooper Union, GSAPP at Columbia University, and the Royal College of Art. Most recently, her collaborative work with Congolese artist Sammy Baloji and Martinique-born Franco-American art historian Cécile Fromont, titled "Debris of History, Matters of Memory" is currently on view in the Arsenale at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice.
