headshot of Cristóbal Molina Baeza

Contact

Education

  • Ph.D. Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB) - Polytechnic University of Catalonia. 
  • Master in Architecture, Tulane University 
  • Bachelor in Architecture, Tulane University 

Courses

  • ARCH 4042_6052 – Mintz Global Research Studio 

Cristóbal Molina Baeza 

Visiting Professor 

Cristóbal Molina Baeza is a versatile architect, researcher, scholar, editor, policymaker, and commissioner, currently serving as Head of the Architecture Unit at the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage of Chile. His expertise includes architectural practice, research, publications, international projects, and cultural policies. 

Molina holds a Ph.D. from Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB) and B.Arch and M.Arch degrees from Tulane University. From 2011 to 2017, he led the Architecture Unit at Chile’s National Council of Culture and Arts (NCCA), continuing this role following its transition into the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage in 2018. In his role, he oversees cultural architectural projects, participates as director or juror in competitions, and directs national initiatives such as the Chilean Architecture Policy. He was also in charge of the proposed Law for the Promotion of Architecture. In 2012, he created the Architecture Section of FONDART, a fund supporting architectural creation, research, and dissemination in Chile. 

As an author, co-author, and editor, he has multiple publications. Notable among his books are "Alberto Piwonka Ovalle: en el cruce de las ideas de la modernidad en Chile" (Ediciones ARQ, 2018); "Concursos de Arquitectura en Chile: su aporte al desarrollo cultural y la calidad de vida" (Publicaciones Cultura, 2014; reissued in 2015); and "Invierno: imágenes de la arquitectura chilena contemporánea / Winter: images of Chilean contemporary architecture" (Arquine, 2020, Mexico). He is currently completing a monograph about the renowned Chilean architect Jorge Elton Álamos (1914–2004), which will be published by Ediciones ARQ of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). He served as architecture editor for CA: Revista Oficial del Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile and editorial coordinator of Revista ARQ from the School of Architecture at PUC. He has lectured in Chile and presented at congresses and festivals in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and Malta. 

He has commissioned multiple national pavilions of Chile at international exhibitions, notably at the Venice Architecture Biennale from 2012 to 2025, including the pavilion that received the Silver Lion Award in 2014. Molina co directed the XXII Bienal de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de Chile together with Loreto Lyon in 2023 and currently serves as commissioner of the Pavilion of Chile at the Biennale Architettura 2025. Additionally, he is a member of the executive board of the XXIII Bienal de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de Chile 2025 and a Visiting Professor at the Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment. 

In 2017, he received the Alfredo Johnson Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement in the Public Sector, granted by the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile, as well as the Institutional Contribution to Architecture Medal, awarded by the Asociación de Oficinas de Arquitectos de Chile (AOA).