About

José Ibarra is a Venezuelan designer, researcher, and educator whose interdisciplinary work explores the intersection of architecture and environmental uncertainty. He is currently an assistant professor of architecture in the Stuckeman School at Penn State, where he also serves as the director of Studio José Ibarra and is a co-founder of House Operations and the Agency for Work and Play. His research centers on architecture’s capacity to meaningfully engage with crises, whether social, ecological, or planetary. Through design, curation, writing, and teaching, he develops multifocal approaches that reframe architecture as a responsive and relational practice amid social unrest, environmental degradation, and climate crisis. His recent projects include edited volumes, performative events, and architectural works that challenge conventional notions of design and participation. Ibarra has served as an editor for various publications and has received numerous accolades for his teaching and scholarly contributions, including awards from the ACSA/AIAS, Tulane University, and recognition from the Graham Foundation. His work is recognized and published internationally, and he is actively working on book projects that reimagine architecture as a platform for activism, planetary repair, and deep time collaboration across species.

Awards & honors

• 2025 Tulane University’s Honorable Achievement for Interdisc…
• Institute for Public Architecture’s Independent Project Resi…
• Dumbarton Oaks’s Built Environment Deans Advancing Change Fe…
• 2024 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture’s 202…
• University of Colorado Denver Office of Research Services Ar…

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