About Iván Bernal
Iván Bernal is a Colombian-born designer, educator, and curator. He is an Associate Professor with tenure at Kent State University (KSU) College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) in Ohio. He holds a Master’s Degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he graduated with honors and received the prestigious “Best Thesis Award” for his research between primitive shapes and familiarity.
Bernal is interested in expanding the role of Architecture, its cultural and urban impact, its aesthetics, and its evolution in relation to digital and computational tools. He has served as Director of Architecture at Kent State University and as a full-time faculty member at Syracuse University School of Architecture (SOA) and SCI-Arc. Before opening his practice, Bernal led studios in South America and The United States. His work has been exhibited in galleries worldwide, and his research sits at the intersection of familiarity and non-traditional representation techniques for exploring divergent realities.
Artist Statement
A visual catalyst, invoking a landscape that blurs the lines between the magical and the concrete, a space where natural flows meld seamlessly with the built environment. It relies on an integration that engenders spaces with a narrative depth that transcends traditional architectural functions, ultimately elevating the space experience to one of wonder and discovery.
It portrays a tapestry of verdant abundance, where greenery is not merely an accent to the architecture but a co-author in the narrative of space. In examining the constructs of this environment—where pathways defy conventional geometry, water and foliage coalesce in a dance of forms, and the boundaries of reality are stretched—the project articulates the potential of architecture to craft not just buildings but worlds within which one can meander and the mind can marvel. It represents a journey where the laws of nature and the constructs of human design converge in an orchestrated landscape of wonder. This project invites the inhabitants to live within a story, to be characters in a living narrative where every turn oEers a new perspective, every path leads to a surprise, and every building is a dialogue with the dreamscape it inhabits.
Exhibition
2024 Verdad Labyrinths. FEEDback – It’s About Time!. Group exhibition. Universitat Internacional de Catalunya. February 27, 2024. Barcelona, Spain
2022 Transient Episodes. PRATT & ACSA Experimental Landings Exhibition. The 2022 Teachers Summit: Summit For Climate Agency: Teaching the Design Experiment. Group exhibition July 8, 2022. Governor’s Island, NY
2021 Plop & Pape. with Keyla Hernandez. It's About Time!, Feedback”. International Exhibition of Architecture at La Biennale di Venezia Italian Pavilion. Group exhibition. August 3, 2021. Venice, Italy
2021 I See You. One object at a time. A+D Museum. Group exhibition. June 18, 2021. Online
2021 Transient Episodes. KSU - Design Innovation Hub. Group exhibition. March 18, 2022. Kent, OH
2017 Roll the Dice. Architecture, Architecture & Architecture: Text, Object, and Image. A+D Museum. Group exhibition. June 16, 2017. Los Angeles, C.
2017 Twins. Table, Object, and Text. Syracuse University SOA - Slocum Hall. Faculty Exhibition. October 10, Syracuse, NY 2017
2015 The Architectural Imagination US Pavilion at the 2016 Venice International Architecture Biennale. A+D museum. PitaBloom, Role: designer. July 14, 2017 Pita and Bloom. Role: Designer
2017 “Leader of design” MBus Lincoln Road FIU. February 9, 2017. Miami, FL
2016 I track you. A One Night Stand for Arts and Architecture - the Rendezvous. In collaboration with Casey Rhem. May 4, 2016. Los Angeles, CA.
2016 The New Zocalo. 15th Venice Architecture Biennale, US Pavilion. Pita and Bloom. Role: Designer, May 16, 2016. Venice, Italy
2015 Under the sheets. A One-Night Stand for Arts and Architecture. Group exhibition. May 14, 2014. Los Angeles, CA
2015 Guggenheim competition entry. What’s the Guggenheim?. Group exhibition. Xefirotarch. Role: Senior Lead Designer. January 20, 2015. Los Angeles, CA
2015 Platonics. UNICEF Next Gen Art Party, exhibition, and auction February 28, 2015. Venice, CA
2014 Xefirotarch - Three Recent Projects. The Ohio State University, Knowlton School of Architecture - Banvard Gallery. Role: Senior Lead Designer. May, 10, 2014. Columbus, OH
2013 New New York. Past Futures, Present Futures. Storefront for Arts and Architecture. In collaboration with Xefirotarch- Hernan Diaz Alonso. November 17, 2012. NYC, NY
2012 Familiar Primitives. “Rethinking Cities: Framing the Future “My Very Own City.” World Bank Symposium. Group exhibition. October 8, 2012. Barcelona, Spain
2012 Maribor. La Biennale di Venezia, 100 Years City of Maribor. Australian /Slovenian Pavilion. Group exhibition. Xefirotarch. Role: Designer. May 16, 2012. Venice, Italy
2012 Rethinking Cities: My very Own City. World Bank Symposium. Group exhibition.October 8, 2012. Barcelona, Spain
2012 Maribor European Cultural Capital ExhSeptemberibit, 100 Years City of Maribor. Maribor Institue oo Architectur. Xefirotarch. Role: Designer. Maribor, Slovenia
2010 TBA21 Patagonia Museum. La Biennale di Venezia, Austrian Pavilion.Group exhibition. Xefirotarch. Role: Designer. May 17, 2010. Venice, Italy
2012 Familiar Primitives. Fresh Punches Experimental Architecture Exhibition. Land of Tomorrow Gallery. Group exhibition. September 25, 2012. Lexington, KY
2011 Familiar Primitives. SCI-Arc Thesis Exhibition. “A show of outstanding thesis”. September 16, 2011. Los Angeles, CA
2011 “noirscape-s”. A+D Museum. Group exhibition. May 7, 2011. Los Angeles, CA.
Verdant Labyrinth: Aerial view of a botanical wonderland