Alonso L Ortega
_underscore studio
Alonso L Ortega he/him is an emerging transdisciplinary architectural designer + artist + educator + researcher based in New York. His work focuses on the investigation of materiality as political, the influence of digital processes on design language, and the disciplines adaptability to respond to diverse circumstances, scales, and frameworks. Ortega currently holds teaching roles as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University, where he fosters an experimental and exploratory environment that addresses contemporary challenges of spatial justice, equity, and coloniality. He also teaches at Parsons School of Design, specializing in spatial relationships, volumetric interactions, material assemblies, and new physical and digital visualizations. Ortega works with Mario Gooden Studio as a Junior Architectural Designer, leading and managing projects while addressing and engaging in the cultural landscape and intersectionality of architecture, race, gender, sexuality, and technology.
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Along with Ortega's numerous awards, citations, and recognition, his work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the International Exhibition of Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy; the Università Roma Tre in Rome, Italy; Charlotte Street Foundations, Art in the Loop Foundation, and 21c Museum Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri; and Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
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Ortega completed an advanced graduate degree in architecture from Columbia University and a B.Arch. from Iowa State University. It is Ortega's ongoing commitment to pushing the boundaries of architecture and its practice by pursuing curiosity, questioning convention, and creatively navigating problem-solving that continues to add value to the design profession.
_underscore studio is a critically engaged design workshop led by Alonso L Ortega, rooted in collaboration and cross-disciplinary exchange. Positioned at the intersection of architecture, art, and socio-political inquiry, the studio operates beyond conventional hierarchies—placing ideas, context, and discourse at the forefront of the design process. Based in New York City, _underscore studio participates in a global network of thinkers, makers, and practitioners who are confronting the urgent spatial, cultural, and political challenges of our time. With a commitment to design as a form of critical practice, the studio fosters an open framework where diverse voices contribute to architectural outcomes that are as intellectually rigorous as they are socially relevant.