Julián Palacio

Julián Palacio is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union and founder of JPAS, an architecture office based in New York. His work focuses on exploring architectural form through geometry, space, and structure, with a particular interest in innovative ceramic structures and local material practices. He has led design and fabrication projects such as Ibeji (installed at dieFirma Gallery, NYC) and Manifold (Festival des Architectures Vives, Montpellier, France). Palacio is a MacDowel Fellow and recipient of the Deborah J. Norden Fellowship for research on Uruguayan engineer Eladio Dieste’s structural innovations.

Palacio holds a Master’s in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) and a Bachelor of Architecture from Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá, Colombia). Before founding JPAS, he worked on cultural and residential projects with firms like Office dA, TEN Arquitectos, and BH across the US and Latin America.

His research investigates how typology evolves through programmatic needs, technological advancements, and cultural ideologies. At Cornell University (2013–2017), he organized the Preston H. Thomas Memorial Symposium Chronicles of the South: Architecture for the City, examining urban transformation in Colombia. He frequently lectures and serves as a guest critic for studio and thesis reviews at institutions like the University of Pennsylvania.

Palacio has contributed to Cooper Union’s outreach through exhibitions like Bodies in Movement (2019) and co-teaches the second-year Design Studio with Nima Javidi and Stephanie Lin, emphasizing typological experimentation. His practice and teaching aim to merge structural innovation with social and cultural relevance, reflecting Peter Cooper’s vision of education as a catalyst for civic harmony.