Juan Carlos Sanabria is the current Director of the School of Architecture at VERITAS University. He is also one of 146 architectural design professionals who form part of the distinguished alumni of Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, known as the AA. The school, founded in 1847 in London, is the oldest and most prestigious independent institution of higher learning for architecture in the world.

Since its foundation, the Academic Council of the AA has recognized 146 graduates for their contributions towards the advancement of architectural education and their careers. Juan Carlos Sanabria is the second Latin American architect on that list, which includes Zaha Hadid (who designed the magnificent Puente Pabellon – Bridge Pavillion in Zaragoza, Spain) and Sir Michael Hopkins (Our Dynamic Earth Science Center in Edinburgh, Scotland).

At just 34 years of age, Mr. Sanabria is the youngest architect to join the acclaimed list. In addition to his education at AA, he also studied at the University of Costa Rica. He joined the academic staff at VERITAS in 2003, and has been Director of the School of Architecture since 2009.

One of Mr. Sanabrias’ dissertations while at AA was for a Small-Scale Housing Unit Prototype For Costa Rica in 2002. His Master’s Degree obtained at AA was on Energy-Efficient, Environmental and Sustainable Design.

During the first decade of the twenty-first century, Mr. Sanabria and eight other architects from Costa Rica studied at the AA, thus marking a new episode in our country’s architectural outlook and legacy.

The official press release from VERITAS contains the following remarks:

Oscar Pamio, Dean of the School of Design: “Juan Carlos Sanabria is a professional of extraordinary value for our country; his forward-looking vision and his international trajectory is a testament to the Costa Rican talent and it shows the world that we can compete at very high levels.”

Ronald Sasso, President of VERITAS: “Juan Carlos Sanabria has managed to turn the School of Architecture at VERITAS into an emerging school, progressive and experimental, with a concentration on interdisciplinary studies and sustainability, which positions out school as an international point of reference [in architectural matters].”

For his part, Mr. Sanabria humbly recognized that his achievement would not be possible without his colleagues, with whom he shares a progressive and sustainable outlook on everything they work on.