Juan Fernández González
Hello! Thank you for your curiosity and for looking at this website.

Juan Fernández González graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Master of Architecture program in 2025, where he was awarded the Peter Rice Prize. He obtained a B.Sc. Architecture degree from McGill University in 2019, where he later worked as an Architectural Sketching Course Lecturer.

Juan grew up in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. His work experience includes internships at the offices of Lina Ghotmeh (Paris) and Frida Escobedo (Mexico City), as well as at Lemay (Montreal). He will soon join the New York City office of the Canadian architecture firm Diamond Schmitt.

His first publication, at age 19, was a geometry discovery. Since then, his work (as a single author or co-author) has been published by Buildings and Cities, the Springer Nature Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice, the Harvard Urban Review, and Drawing Matter, among other journals and magazines.

Note: This website is dedicated to selected ideas and experiences but does not include school design projects.

Email: jfernandezgonzalez@gsd.harvard.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fzgzjuan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jfg.sketches/
Peter Rice Prize

“The Peter Rice Prize honors students of exceptional promise in the school’s architecture and advanced degree programs who have proven their competence and innovation in advancing architecture and structural engineering.” - Harvard Graduate School of Design.

I am extremely honored to have received the 2025 Peter Rice Prize for my thesis project entitled The Weight of Rubble, under the supervision of my advisor Andrew Witt. The project presents a novel structural system to build with rubble from demolished buildings, powered and supported by the weight of rubble.


Peter Rice Prize Graduation Prize
2025



Sketchbooks

I love learning from inspiring buildings and spaces by drawing on-site. Since I began my undergraduate architecture studies, I have filled about forty Moleskine sketchbooks, assembling a personal collection. This is an ongoing personal project which I intend to continue throughout my career.
Drawing
2016-present




Architecture Sketching Course Lecturer at McGill University

I co-taught Architectural Sketching at McGill University from 2019 to 2024. Prof. David Covo and Prof. Ricardo Castro led the course. Recent locations include Montreal (QC), Saint John (NB), and Baie St-Paul (QC). In 2022, I was promoted to be a Course Lecturer, previously being a Teaching Collaborator.

McGill University: The Sketching School Teaching
2019-2024

Internship at Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture

Following an option studio at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, I did a summer internship in Paris at the office of my professor, Lina Ghotmeh.

The office is known for its “Archeology of the Future” approach, “where every new gesture reinvents the traces of the past”. Their most famous projects include the 2023 Serpentine Pavilion, Stone Garden, the Estonian National Museum, and the upcoming renovation of the British Museum’s Western Range Galleries. (Picture of the Serpentine pavilion from LG-A’s website, a project which I was not a part of.)

Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture Office Experience
Summer 2024



Access Before Infrastructure: Vancouver Power Line Rights-of-Way 

This paper explores the spatial and legal barries of power line rights-of-way in Greater Vancouver. It was published in the Harvard Urban Review’s Issue 04: Permeabilities with support from the Harvard GSD’s Penny White Project Fund.

Co-author: Sidney Hambleton Sponer

Harvard Urban Review Exhibition and publication
2024

The GSD Sketching Group and the Call for Sketchbooks Exhibition

This short text presents the GSD Sketching Group (a student group that I co-founded at the Harvard GSD) and an exhibition that we co-hosted with the GSD Kirkland Gallery and other collaborators. We exhibited fifty student sketchbooks on custom-made swings, challenging the way in which sketchbooks are presented in museums.

Note: the structure readapted and reused wooden structures by Manuel Bouzas Barcala.

Drawing Matter Exhibition and publication
2024




Ellipse Chains

This paper defines and studies ellipse chains, which are sequences of numbers generated by geometric constructions of ellipses on a number line. Minimal ellipse chains ending on a given integer can be easily computed. A conjecture is proposed for constructing the first n prime numbers on a number line in a certain (to be published...) way.
Geometry discovery submitted for publication
2024

Open Letter to the Kenzo Tange Pavilion

This open letter questions the role of pavilions that don’t serve a social purpose. By writing to the Kenzo Tange Pavilion (a temporary pavilion at the Harvard GSD), we ask it to come back in the form of a bus stop to extend our school building’s sheltering service to a broader community.

Co-author: Fernando Garrido Carreras.

Harvard GSD Open Letters Publication
2023

Mathematical Experiments on Paper and Computer

This book chapter proposes a characterization of mathematical experiments in terms of a setup, a process with an outcome, and an interpretation. We present a particular case study of the genesis of a geometric construction (Fernández González, 2016) to illustrate the experimental use of hand drawings and computers in mathematical practice.

Springer Nature Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice Publication
2023

Concealed Public Transportation in Latin America

This publication explores informal buses (called “colectivos”) in Latin America and the systematic tendency of cities to conceal infrastructures that accomodate informal economies and transport their actors. Moreover, it studies how the regularization of these informal buses can improve their accessibility through the lenses of universal design, the placement and reliability of their stops, and improved safety measures.Case studies from Mexico City, Santiago, and Buenos Aires are presented.

ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America Publication
2023

Supra-Urban Morphologies and the n-Body Problem 

This paper presents a morphological study of networks of urban structures at the territorial scale. We observe that agglomerations of cities, towns, and settlements mimic geometries generated by the n-body problem.

Co-author: Romain Carré.

TESTING-GROUND (Issue 04) Publication
2023

The Urban Presence of Sketchers

This short text explores how the presence of urban sketchers has an impact of pedestrian traffic and exchanges in the city. My sketches of the Christian Science Plaza in Boston are part of the publication.

Streetnotes Publication
2023




Visual Proofs in Mathematics and Architecture


Within the existing taxonomy of mathematical proofs, visual proofs distinguish themselves by using representation as a tool for demonstration. This paper explores visual proofs in mathematics and their relationship with architectural representation. 

I presented this paper at the Nexus Network Conference: Relationships between Architecture and Mathematics in Turin (2023).

Nexus Network Journal: Relationships between Architecture and Mathematics & Nexus Network Conference 2023  Publication
2023




From a Doodle to a Theorem: A Case Study in Mathematical Discovery 

This paper presents some aspects of the genesis of a geometric construction from the original idea to the published version (Fernández González, 2016). We argue that the explaining mathematical ideas in the order of the process of discovery could benefit the readers of mathematical articles which usually convey results (from a theorem to a doodle) instead of processes of discovery (from a doodle to a theorem).

Co-author: Dirk Schlimm.

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics (2023) & Canadian Mathematical Society Winter Meeting (2020)   Publication and conference presentation
2023, 2020


Omni-Referential Architecture

This visual essay explores how the patterns of occupation in arrays of windows can encode information as a QR code. Through inhabitation, omni-referential architecture can be encoded into buildings.

Cellar Architecture Journal Publication
2023




Internship at Frida Escobedo Studio 

After my first year at the Harvard GSD, I did a summer internship at the office of Frida Escobedo in Mexico City.

The studio was established by Frida Escobedo in 2006. Their most famous projects include the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion, La Tallera Siqueiros, El Eco Pavilion, the upcoming new Modern and Contemporary Art Wing of the Met, and the upcoming renovation of the Centre Pompidou. (Picture of La Tallera in my hometown from Frida Escobedo Studio’s website, a project which I was not a part of.)

Frida Escobedo StudioOffice Experience
Summer 2022

GSD Sketching Group

In February 2022, I co-founded the GSD Sketching Group with Olivia Champ Tremml. This school-funded student group brings together the Harvard GSD community to sketch their surroundings and learn by drawing. From that day until January 2025, we hosted 28 on-site sketching events, two visits to the archives (Loeb Library and Harvard Art Museums) and one exhibition of student sketchbooks.

In October 2022, I presented the GSD Sketching Group at the Universities Art Association of Canada annual conference in Toronto as “Student-led Sketching Initiatives in Architectural Education”.

Universities Art Association of Canada Student group creation and conference presentation
2022-2025

Unidirectional Tactile Paving: Circulation for People with Visual Impairments

This paper proposes novel tactile paving designs for people with visual impairments which allow them to navigate through unidirectional circulation networks. I presented this research at the Sixth International Conference on Universal Design (Brescia, 2022).

Co-author: Ankit Gongal.

Sixth International Conference on Universal Design & IOS Press (Transforming our World through Universal Design for Human Development) Publication and conference presentation
2022

Using Math to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission in Informal Settlements

This news article, written by Barbara Miglietti, talks about the publication that I co-authored with Ankit Gongal: “Unidirectional Pedestrian Circulation: Physical Distancing in Informal Settlements”.

Harvard Graduate School of Design (News) News
2021




Unidirectional Pedestrian Circulation: Physical Distancing in Informal Settlements

This publication presents a mathematical method for turning a planar circulation network of any size or complexity into a network of unidirectional lanes. This makes physical distancing possible in the narrow circulation spaces of informal settlements by limiting face-to-face interactions. The cost-efficient, low-tech solution takes into account the desired routes of the informal settlements’ inhabitants.

Four novel graph theorems for oriented planar graphs are introduced.

Co-author: Ankit Gongal.

Buildings and Cities Publication
2021

From Brébeuf to Harvard: The atypical journey of a kid who wanted to become an architect

This short story written by Vincent Wallon talks about my journey from Mexico to Montreal as a kid who wanted to become an architect, studying at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, McGill University before being admitted to the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf (homepage)News
2021

Alumni Juan Fernández González and Ankit Gongal propose solution to slow down COVID-19 contagion in informal settlements

This announcement shared our ideas from the preprint “Unidirectional Pedestrian Circulation: Physical Distancing in Informal Settlements”, which had then been accepted for development by the journal Buildings and Cities.  

McGill University School of Architecture (homepage)News 
2020




The Ambilateral Door Handle  

My design of a door handle, which first took form during David Covo’s design studio, was published by Perceptions. It proposes a mechanism which makes it possible to open a door, walk through it, and close it without letting go off the door handle.

The magazine is available at the Canadian Centre for Architecture.

Revue Perceptions, Université de MontréalDesign and publication 
2020




Sustainable Arctic Domes

As a Research Assistant for Architect Susane Havelka, I helped her with the dadaDome project. Inspired by Inuit cultural traditions and lifestyles, the dadaDome proposes a sustainable housing option for northern Canada. Using local materials, this economical construction process makes it easier for Inuit women and families to build their own homes with dignity.

dadaDomeExperience
2020

Internship at Lemay

After being Andrew King’s student at Lemay during my last year at McGill, I joined Lemay, where he led the design team.

I worked mostly on the New High Schools of Quebec project, which set new standards for high schools in the province through four built projects. Min-Seung Shin and Eric Pelletier were my bosses. Lemay is known for its projects throughout Canada and beyond, being one of the country’s largest architecture firms. (This picture from Lemay’s website shows the Laval High School.)

LemayOffice Experience
2019-2020

Fundamentals of Geometry Construction: The Math Behind the CAD

Jorge Angeles and Damiano Pasini’s book for Springer Nature includes some sketches in Chapter 1: Introduction to Geometry Construction, which I drew. That was my minor contributor to this major work.

Springer Tracts in Mechanical EngineeringPublication
contribution
2020



Repairing Medieval Castles

During the summer of 2018, I helped repair medieval castles as a stonemason. This wonderful experience taught me the basics of stone construction and the important history of the materials that we build with. The Château d’Opoul is located in Pyrénées-Orientales, France. The host institution was REMPART: Association Patrimoine 

REMPART: Association PatrimoineExperience
2018

Venice Architecture Biennale Assistant

I was fortunate to briefly help the Canadian Pavilion team on-site at the 2018 Venice Biennale. Douglas Cardinal led the project entitled UNCEDED: Voices of the Land, “the first Indigenous-led contemporary architecture exhibit ever presented on the world stage”. I worked as a Volunteer Assistant to Canadian Pavilion Manager Tamara Andruszkievicz.

McGill University Channels (McGill University homepage) published a short piece that I wrote on my experience in 2020.

McGill University ChannelsExperience and publication
2018, 2020

Undergraduate student Juan Fernández González makes math discovery

A short story of Juan’s discovery of the polygon of Euler’s circle appeared on the McGill University Newsroom (University Homepage). It discusses some similarities between the process of mathematical discovery and architectural design.  

McGill University NewsroomNews
2018




The Polygon of Euler’s Circle (Le polygone du cercle d’Euler)  

The polygon of Euler’s circle is a novel polygon which can be associated to any triangle. It can take the form of an equilateral triangle, a square, or a regular pentagon, among others. Groups of these polygons can be associated to groups of triangles and triangulated polygons, having interesting properties.

Bulletin AMQ, Association Mathématique du Québec Geometry discovery and publication
2017




Homothetic Paths (Chemins homothétiques)  

Homothetic paths are a new class of discrete paths in geometry. They present a new construction of the center of gravity of a group of points of arbitrary weights.

Midpoint paths are a subclass of homothetic paths. They make it possible to multiply the length of a line segment by a rational number between 0 and 1 by constructing only midpoints and a straight line. This novel geometric construction is an alternative to one from the Elements of Euclid, being over two millennia old, and it does not require parallel lines.

Bulletin AMQ, Association Mathématique du QuébecGeometry discovery and publication
2016

Updated on April 16, 2025