New visiting professors

Two visiting architecture professors have joined LAU’s SArD this fall. Hailing from Venezuela and Italy, they bring to the university an international outlook from years of experience as practicing architects and academics in various cities around the world.
 
Dr. Igor Peraza’s most recent projects include a commission to oversee work on the Spanish Pavilion at the World Expo Shanghai. He is also director of Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue’s (EMBT) office in Shanghai.

Peraza earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Central University of Venezuela; a master’s in architecture at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan and a Ph.D. at the University of Kumamoto, Kyushu. After five years working in the studio of renowned Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, Peraza moved to Spain, leading Project Domus (Museum of Mankind) in La Coruña. He later moved to Barcelona where he was director of the Santa Caterina Market Project and began teaching.

“I grew up with friends whose families came from Lebanon and always wanted to visit here,” Peraza said. “After I was invited to give a lecture at Studio X in Amman I came to Beirut and gave a lecture in Byblos. Since that moment I was completely sure that it would be a great experience to join the LAU family,” he said. During his time in Beirut teaching Design III and Design VII he hopes to pass on to his students his 30 years of experience across multiple design fields.

Dr. Fabiano Micocci is a practicing architect and researcher who specializes on public and residential spaces and the relationship between architecture and landscape, with a particular interest in Mediterranean architecture.

Micocci was drawn to LAU for its reputation as “a dynamic university on the Mediterranean shore.” He hopes to build new experiences and form future collaborations while at LAU.

He is an active contributor to global architectural dialogues, as co-founder of NEAR Architecture, a network of architects working on design and theoretical research. He is also an associate at Urban Transcripts, a group of researchers who organize events, workshops and exhibitions.

Micocci received his Ph.D. from the University of Florence with a thesis that looked at Mediterranean architectural practice after World War II.