Carlos Rueda

Carlos Rueda is an Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture, University of Manitoba, where he also served as Department Head (2015-2020). He maintains a dual academic and professional identity, holding licensure as an architect in Colombia through his firm Monumental. His work bridges architectural practice with critical theory, focusing on hybrid architectural cultures in Latin America and the Mediterranean. Dr. Rueda’s research explores the intersection of phenomenology, cognitive studies, and poetic literature in shaping architectural experience.

Education

• Ph.D. Architecture History and Theory, McGill University (2009)
• M.ArchII. Housing, McGill University (2001)
• B.Arch., Universidad de los Andes (1989)

Research Focus

Rueda’s scholarship examines modern and contemporary architecture in peripheral contexts, emphasizing transcultural processes and the reinterpretation of pre-modern traditions. Key areas include Rogelio Salmona’s works, the phenomenology of place, and the synthesis of indigenous and modernist influences in Mediterranean and Latin American architecture. His creative projects explore material imagination and spatial poetics, often collaborating with interdisciplinary platforms like CreArchitect.

Administrative Achievements

• Revived the Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (C.A.S.T.) with industry partnerships
• Secured $1.5M for studio renovations and faculty recruitment
• Reaccredited the Architecture program with a 6-year term (2018)

Awards

• ARCC Medal (2009) for doctoral work on place-making

Grants & Collaborations

Collaborated with Philip Beesley’s Living Architecture Systems Group and Canadian industry bodies like CPCI. Led interdisciplinary urban design studios with Winnipeg’s City Planning Department, including a project with Jan Gehl on livable cities.

Labs/Initiatives

Director of the Sindesis book series and editor of interdisciplinary volumes on architectural history and theory. Founded the Paths of Modernity research project analyzing Latin American architectural trajectories.