Vatican City: Carla Juaçaba
Born in 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Carla Juaçaba is one of ten architects commissioned to design and build one of the ten Vatican Chapels for the “Holy See Pavilion” exhibition curated by Francesco Dal Co, which was the debut of Vatican City at the Venice Architecture Bienniale (2018). She holds a diploma in architecture and urbanism from Santa Ursula Unviersity in Rio de Janeiro, and she is enrolled in a PhD program at Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid in Spain. Juaçaba established an architectural firm in Rio de Janeiro (2000-), and is a full professor at the Academia di Architettura di Mendrisio located in Switzerland (2019–); she earned full professor in 2023.
Juaçaba has worked as a visiting professor, lecturer, and/or researcher at other universities around the world, including Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation in New York City, New York (2013); the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida; the Escola da Cidade in São Paulo, Brazil; the City University of New York in New York City (2016); the University of Venice in Venice, Italy; the Potificíca Universidade Católica do Rio de Janerio; the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada; and the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts (2018). Juaçaba served on the jury for the Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (BIAU) in Madrid, Spain (2012 and 2019), and on the jury for the Simon Architecture Prize issued by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe in Barcelona, Spain (2022). Juaçaba earned the AREA Architectural Review Emerging Architecture Award (2018), and the ArcVision Women and Architecture prize (2013); she also earned nominations for the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (2014), the Swiss Architectural Award (2014), and the Schelling Architecture Award (2014).
References
Adrià, Miquel, and Andrea Griborio. Radical : 50 Latin American Architectures. First edition. México, D.F.: Arquine, 2016.
“Architect Carla Juaçaba Wins the arcVision Prize. Women and Architecture.” Metalocus, March 11, 2013. https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/architect-carla-juacaba-wins-arcvision-prize-women-and-architecture.
Baratto, Romullo. “Carla Juaçaba Presents Her Chapel Design for the Vatican at the 2018 Venice Biennale.” ArchDaily, May 25, 2018. https://www.archdaily.com/894548/carla-juacaba-presents-her-chapel-design-for-the-vatican-at-the-2018-venice-biennale.
“Biennale Architettura 2018 | Carla Juaçaba.” La Biennale di Venezia. June 18, 2018. https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2018/partecipants/carla-jua%C3%A7aba.
“Carla Juaçaba.” ArchDaily, accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.archdaily.com/office/carla-juacaba.
“Carla Juacaba.” Architectuul, accessed May 7, 2025. https://architectuul.com/architect/carla-juacaba.
“Carla Juaçaba.” The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://ssa.ccny.cuny.edu/blog/people/carla-juacaba/.
“Carla Juacaba.” MIRC Competition. Accessed May 7, 2025. “https://www.mirc.polimi.it/carla-juacaba/”>https://www.mirc.polimi.it/carla-juacaba/. [Link unavailable as of March 12, 2026].
“Carla Juaçaba.” Swiss Architectural Award. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://swissarchitecturalaward.com/en/profiles/carla-juacaba/.
“Carla Juaçaba and Eva Prats Appointed Associate Professors in Architectural Design.” Academy of Architecture. June 12, 2023. https://www.arc.usi.ch/en/feeds/13068.
“Carla Juaçaba, ‘Empty Space.’” Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/carla-juacaba/.
“Carla Juaçaba: ‘For Me, Material and Context Are Intrinsically Related.’” The Architectural Review, May 27, 2015. https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/profiles-and-interviews/carla-juacaba-for-me-material-and-context-are-intrinsically-related.
“Carla Juaçaba Millennium Meetings with Architecture. Second Edition.” arcVision. April 12, 2013. https://www.arcvision.org/carla-juacaba-millennium-meetings-with-architetcure-second-edition/?lang=en.
“Carla Juaçaba, ‘Perceiving and Working.’” Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Accessed May 7, 2025. https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/carla-juaaba-perceiving-and-working/.
“Entrevista com Carla Juaçaba.” Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo,
Garcia, Andreia. Sebentas de Projecto: Carla Juaçaba = Architectural Notes in Review : Carla Juaçaba. Primera edição. Vol. 2. Porto: Architectural Affairs, 2024.
Gamolina, Julia. “On Imagination: Carla Juaçaba on Recognition, Sensitivity, and Overcoming Times of Crisis.” Madame Architect, September 28, 2021. https://www.madamearchitect.org/interviews/2021/7/26/carla-juacaba.
“Graham Foundation – Grantees – Canadian Centre for Architecture.” Accessed January 31, 2026. http://www.grahamfoundation.org/grantees/6634-groundwork-a-film-series-on-alternative-modes-of-engagement-in-architecture.
Hoidn, Barbara, and Kevin Alter. O’Neil Ford Duograph 2, Brazil : House in Rio Bonito, 2002–2005, Carla Juaçaba : House in Santa Teresa, 2005-2008, Angelo Bucci. Austin, Tex: University of Texas at Austin Center for American Architecture and Design, 2009.
Home page. Carla Juaçaba Studio. Accessed May 7, 2025. https://www.carlajuacaba.com.
Lange, Torsten, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Daniela Ortiz Dos Santos, and Gabrielle Schaad. Contemporary Feminist Spatial Practices. Edited by Melissa Makele and Anh-Linh Ngo. First edition. Berlin: ARCH+/Spector Books, 2023.
Lamunière, Simon, and host institution Parc Lullin. Open House : Concevoir Des Espaces a Vivre = Designing Spaces for Living. Edited by Simon Lamunière. Scheidegger & Spiess, 2022.
Marx, John, ed. Towards Abundance : The Delightful Paradoxes of Gender. London: The Architectural Review, 2023.
Mollard, Manon. “Nature Nurtured: Carla Juaçaba Studio, Brazil.” The Architectural Review, November 21, 2018. https://www.architectural-review.com/today/nature-nurtured-carla-juacaba-studio-brazil.
Mostafavi, Mohsen. Urbanismo Ecológico En América Latina = Urbanismo Ecológico Na América Latina. Barcelona: Gustavo Gili, 2019.
“Pavilion of the Holy See at Venice Biennial 2018 by Carla Juaçaba.” Metalocus, accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/pavilion-holy-see-venice-biennial-2018-carla-juacaba.
Stevens, Philip. “Designboom Interviews Brazilian Architect Carla Juaçaba.” Designboom, September 23, 2015. https://www.designboom.com/architecture/carla-juacaba-arquiteta-interview-09-23-2015/.
“Vatican Chapel, Holy See Pavilion.” Architect, March 28, 2018. https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/pavilions-of-the-holy-see_o.
Wong, Karen. “Interview With Carla Juaçaba, Brazilian Architect and Former Pianist.” Pin-Up, accessed May 7, 2025. https://archive.pinupmagazine.org/articles/interview-brazilian-architect-carla-juacaba-rio-de-janeiro.
