A talented architect, urban designer and teacher, Pablo Güiraldes (M.ARCH ’98) had a career of successes in public and private capacities in both the United States and his native Argentina. A MAPP alumnus and former Kea Distinguished Professor, he passed away on July 26, 2023, at his home in Buenos Aires, following a courageous eight-month battle with Glioblastoma.
Güiraldes was held in high regard by his colleagues as a first-rate problem solver who combined his vast knowledge of architecture, urban design and cities with a collaborative and approachable nature that was immediately embraced by those working with him, whether teaching, addressing client needs or in his role as a public servant. His long experience as a practicing architect—working with firms in both Argentina and the United States—ranged from single and multi-family residences to large mixed-use urban redevelopment design and planning projects.
With two colleagues, Güiraldes designed the Glaciarium Patagonia Ice Museum in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, and later served as National Director for Argentina’s Urban Development and Secretariat of Housing and Habitat for the Ministry of Interior, Public Works and Housing then Director General of Urban Regeneration with the Ministry of Environment and Public Space.
Of the impact of his recent public role in Argentina, his colleague, Ariel Fabian Sueiro, observed, “Thanks to him, and against all those who did not want anything to change, it was during his short tenure in the Ministry of the Interior Public Works and Housing of the nation that, today, social housing is much more dignified” and that his management created the Minimum Standards of Quality for Houses of Social Interest. “Thanks to him and his team, all these improvements that are still current to this day, have made social housing in Argentina have the best comfort in history, huge steps in a clear commitment to those who have less.”
In addition to his Master of Architecture from Maryland, Güiraldes also earned his professional architecture degree from the University of Belgrano in Argentina. As a professional, he easily segued from the role of a master planner to addressing issues of building design and construction for creating innovative affordable housing and mixed-use urban redevelopments. He brought his insightful criticism and passion for learning—together with the best examples history could provide—to teach his students at the University of Maryland. And in 2001, he helped lead the first of several urban design workshops in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, winning the first academic Charter Awards from the Congress for the New Urbanism for a design that envisioned new public spaces and connectivity in a part of the city severed by transportation infrastructure.
His colleague at Maryland, Professor Matthew Bell, who collaborated with Güiraldes on numerous workshops with American and Italian architecture students noted, “Pablo always had important and thoughtful insights, always to be carefully considered. One year, in Castellammare, the group was working on an urban design proposal for Gragnano, a nearby town famous for its pasta industry. I arrived a week after the group had started and, by then, Pablo had the group working at a fever pitch, producing an amazing amount of design and analysis, resulting in an insight about the interrelationship between the microclimate, the town’s urban form and the local agricultural/industrial economy that blew me away. Teaching with him was always a rewarding learning experience for me.” Güiraldes returned to Maryland in the Fall of 2019 as Kea Distinguished Professor, working with Bell in the ARCH 700- Graduate Urban Design Studio, and focusing on a waterfront neighborhood in greater Buenos Aires.
Pablo is survived by his wife, Elena Ayerza and children Joaquin (wife Toia), Catalina, Federico (partner Santiago) and Milagros, along with many family members and friends. Admired and respected by colleagues and students and loved by family and friends, he was known as an extraordinary being, a special, wonderful and kind person who was as good as he was modest and humble.
