IKER GIL
Photograph by David Schalliol
Iker Gil is an architect and director of MAS Studio, the editor in chief of the nonprofit MAS Context, and the Executive Director of the SOM Foundation.
Some of the recent projects of the office include the MC01, MC02, MC03, and MC04 projects in Marina City with Ellipsis Architecture, the bLUMEN pavilion in Chicago with Luftwerk, the signage standards for the Oneida with JNL Graphic Design, the documentation of the residents and units of Marina City with photographer Andreas E.G. Larsson, a prototype for a single-family home in New Orleans, an urban proposal for the area surrounding Lambeau Field in Green Bay, and Cut. Join. Play., the first prize in the 2010 Architecture for Humanity Chicago Street furniture competition and exhibited as part of the US Pavilion at the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale.
Iker is the editor of the books Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio (MAS Context, 2021) and Shanghai Transforming (ACTAR, 2008). He has co-curated or curated the exhibitions Poured Architecture: Sergio Prego on Miguel Fisac, Nocturnal Landscapes, BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago included in the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial, a gallery as part of the exhibition Chatter Architecture Talks Balk at the Art Institute of Chicago, Shanghai Transforming at the Chicago Architecture Foundation and Virginia Tech, and Synchronizing Geometry held at S.R. Crown Hall (IIT).
Iker was the co-curator of Exhibit Columbus 2020-2021 and the Associate Curator of the US Pavilion at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale that took place in 2018. In addition, he was the co-director of the Chicago Expander program. He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and Escola da Cidade (São Paulo).
Iker has received several grants and awards for his work, including the 2010 Emerging Visions Award from the Chicago Architectural Club, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation grants, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts grants, Ruy de Clavijo grant by Casa Asia, and PICE grant by AC/E (Acción Cultural Española). He has been selected as one of “Fifty Under Fifty: Innovators of the 21st Century” by a jury composed by Stanley Tigerman, Jeanne Gang, Qingyun Ma, and Marion Weiss. He has been named New Progressive by Architect Magazine, included in the Hall of Fame in Newcity’s annual Design 50 as well as in i4design Magazine‘s 5th annual Suite Sixteen that recognizes “the Midwest’s most innovative design pros who are pushing old boundaries, exploring new concepts and making a difference in design with the work that they do.” He received a President Citation by the American Institute of Architects Chicago for his work as part of Dimensions of Citizenship.
Education
Master of Architecture, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
Architect, Escola Tecnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB)
Additional Education
2002-2003 Study abroad program College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
2002 Mies van der Rohe Master Class with Kazuyo Sejima, ETSAB, Barcelona
2001 Mies van der Rohe Master Class with David Chipperfield, ETSAB, Barcelona
Email iker@mas-studio.com
Instagram @ikergil