Paolo Sanza
Education
Arizona State University
MS Architecture
Arizona State University
BS Architecture
Contact
CV
About
Paolo Sanza is a registered architect in the State of Arizona and an Associate Professor of Architecture at The University of Oklahoma. He previously taught at Oklahoma State University and Arizona State University. Before joining academia, Prof. Sanza began his career in architecture with the office of Renzo Piano in Genoa, Italy.
His teaching and research center on design studio pedagogy, Italy’s interbellum architecture, of which he is the author of several articles and book chapters, and the tectonics of architecture, defined as the act of joining members together that raises construction to an art form. Among other accolades, Prof. Sanza has been the recipient of the Wolfsonian-FIU Fellowship, which allowed him to deepen his research in Italian Modernism in one of the largest collections of Italy’s modern age in the United States. Alternating wood and structural steel construction, his directed design studios, inclusive of design-build and community engagement, have been characterized by diverse and unique programs and novel processes, and his students have received numerous international, national, and local awards, including five ACSA/AISC steel design student competition prizes.
Prof. Sanza also has a rich history in curating and designing exhibitions hosted in national and international venues, including the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art, and the Biblioteca Comunale Domenico Besso Marcheis in Rivarolo C.se, Italy.
Paralleling his passion for architecture, research, and teaching, is graphic art. While in Phoenix, Arizona, he was the design director of the award-winning multimedia studio digital extension.
Professor Sanza holds a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Design from Arizona State University.
Selected Publications and Critical Notices of Professional Work (complete list in CV)
2022
- Web article: “OSU-OKC and OSU-Stillwater students help develop tiny home,” Oklahoma State University Headlines News and Media, July 27, 2022.
2021
- “Concorsi & Architettura,” November 2021, pgs. 46-47 (The publication illustrates the top 15 entries of the 2019 international design competition Lissone: Concorso di Idee per la Riqualificazione della Piazza Libertà e del Centro Storico).
2019
- Magazine article: “You Can Get There From Here,” Modern Steel Construction, November 2019, pgs. 53-54 (The article describes and illustrates the winning entries of the AISC-sponsored 2018-2019 ACSA Steel Design Student Competition, including those of my students Christy Yu (third prize) and Esteban Ley (honorable mention)).
- Web article: “Winners of the 2019 AISC/ACSA Steel Design Student Competition,” by Justine Testado, busler.net, September 29, 2019 (The article describes and illustrates the winning entries of the AISC-sponsored 2018-2019 ACSA Steel Design Student Competition, including those of my students Christy Yu (third prize) and Esteban Ley (honorable mention)).
2018
- Web article: “OSU students bring temporary new look to parking spaces,” by David Bitton, stwnewspress.com, October 5, 2018 (The article describes the PARK(ing) Day project and downtown Stillwater installations completed by the design studio ARCH 4116_F18).
- Newspaper article: “Tappa a Ivrea per alcuni studenti della Oklahoma (State) University,” by Paola Ghigo, Il Risveglio Popolare, Ivrea, Italy, June 28, 2018 (The article describes my led study abroad program in Ivrea and North Italy).
2017
- Newspaper article: “Studenti USA in giro per la Città,” by Paola Principe, La Sentinella, Ivrea, Italy, 2017 (The article describes my led study abroad program in Ivrea and North Italy and our meeting with the mayor of the City of Ivrea, Carlo della Peppa).
- Newspaper article: “L’ex scuola è materia d’esame all’Università dell’Oklahoma,” Il Canavese, Rivarolo Canavese, Italy, 2017 (The article informs the public of the programmed design studio investigations to be undertaken within the City of Rivarolo Canavese as exhibited to the Mayor, Alberto Rostagno, by Professor Awilda Rodríguez and me).
2016
- Magazine article: Impact, Stillwater, Oklahoma (The article describes the design process and final output of the OSU Museum of Art museLab).
Selected Book Chapters
Escaping indoorness: education and architecture in Italy’s summer camps during the Fascist era [Curriculum of the Body and the School as Clinic: Histories of Public Health and Schooling, 1900-2020, Routledge, Abingdon, UK, 2023]
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003288671-13/escaping-indoorness-paolo-sanza
TransFORMing: the re-birth of Bolzano GIL [The Routledge Companion Guide to Fascist Italian Architecture: Reception and Legacy, Routledge, Abingdon, UK, 2020]
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429328435-34/transforming-paolo-sanza
Selected Articles and Proceedings
Linee astratte. Spazi per la didattica e il culto del corpo nelle colonie estive degli anni trenta in Italia come ipotesi per un’edilizia scolastica post COVID-19, Associazione Italiana di Storia Urbana (AISU) “Adaptive Cities Through the Post Pandemic Lenses,” Torino, Italy, 09.06-10.2022
https://aisuinternational.org/en/citta-che-si-adattano-adaptive-cities/ (search by name in volume 2)
Architectural pragmatism and poetry: childhood in fascist era summer camps [co-authored with Professor Stephanie Pilat, PhD] [Childhood in the Past, Taylor & Francis Group, Abingdon, UK, 2020]
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17585716.2020.1791496
Il villaggio operaio come agente catalitico di un’identità cittadina: il paradigma Olivetti, Associazione Italiana di Storia Urbana (AISU) “La città globale. La condizione urbana come fenomeno pervasivo, Bologna, Italy, 09.11-14.2019.
Reclaiming the past: adaptive reuse in the design studio, European Architectural Envisioning Association (EAEA), Lodz, Poland, 09.23-26.2015.
https://papers.cumincad.org/cgi-bin/works/paper/eaea2015_t3_paper17
Visualizing the (in)visible: mapping the culture and the forces that shape the urban experience [co-authored with Professor Awilda Rodríguez], SIGraDI13 International Conference (X Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics], Valparaíso, Chile, 11.20-22.2013.
Selected Fellowships and Awards (complete list in CV)
2024: Timber architecture design faculty development workshop, Leers Weinzapfel Associates | Auburn University
2022: Wolfsonian Research Fellowship, The Wolfsonina_Florida International University
2019: Knight Family Faculty Development Fellowship, Oklahoma State University
Selected students’ awards (complete list in CV)
2023
- [Second Prize] Maiten Rodriguez [2022/2023 ACSA/AISC Steel Design Student Competition, Open Category]
Student was jointly critiqued with Professors Awilda Rodriguez and Blake Mitchell.
2021
- [Second Prize] Austin Nguyen [US Stone Student Design Competition]
- [Third Prize] Doreen Adesola [US Stone Student Design Competition]
- [Merit Award] Paitlyn Anderton (Landscape Architecture), Rodney Jordan, Amaya McLelland, Rachel Montgomery, Han Vo, Lauren Williams [2021 American Society of Landscape Architect Oklahoma Chapter Awards, Student Category]
Students were jointly critiqued with Professors Awilda Rodriguez and Bo Zang. - [Merit Award] Blake Fogg, Eli Harris, Addison Hunter (Landscape Architecture), Matthew Otto, Alekzan Powell, Thaddesud Wenger [2021 American Society of Landscape Architect Oklahoma Chapter Awards, Student Category]
Students were jointly critiqued with Professors Awilda Rodriguez and Bo Zang. - [Merit Award] Madison Clark, Joshua Helms, Ryan Lindquist, Katie Phillips (Landscape Architecture), Cassidy Teel, Ethan Walker [2021 American Society of Landscape Architect Oklahoma Chapter Awards, Student Category]
Students were jointly critiqued with Professors Awilda Rodriguez and Bo Zang. - [Merit Award] Ricki Cortez, Kelsey Kersgieter (Landscape Architecture), Sich Lyu, Gustavo Villegas, Henry Xia [2021 American Society of Landscape Architect Oklahoma Chapter Awards, Student Category]
Students were jointly critiqued with Professors Awilda Rodriguez and Bo Zang.
2019
- [Second Prize] Christy Yu [2018/2019 ACSA/AISC Steel Design Student Competition, Open Category]
- [Honorable Mention] Esteban Ley [2018/2019 ACSA/AISC Steel Design Student Competition, Open Category]
- [Merit Award] Josh Coppick, Christopher Durdin (Landscape Architecture), Emily Kleinholz, Julianna Stivers, Devin Weddle [2019 American Society of Landscape Architect Central States Conference Awards, Student Category]
Students were jointly critiqued with Professors Awilda Rodriguez and Bo Zang. - [First Prize] William Crawford, Benjamin Snyder [Timber in the City 3, ARCH 3116_S19 In-house Competition]
- [Second Prize] Trent Loomis, Claudio Perez [Timber in the City 3, ARCH 3116_S19 In-house Competition]
- [Third Prize] Nick Costin, Mason Weise [Timber in the City 3, ARCH 3116_S19 In-house Competition]
2018
- [First Prize] Esteban Ley, Thomas Mejia, Christy Yu [Rosa Parks Early Childhood Center Mud Kitchen Design-Build Competition]
- [First Prize] Josh Coppick, Makoto Hiromatsu, Emily Kleinholz [Mrs. Linda Cline Veteran Conversation Pit Design Competition]
2017
- [First Prize] Olivia Good [Timberlake Construction Prize]
- [First Prize] Olivia Good [Illuminating Engineering Society of Oklahoma Scholarship]
- [First Prize] Veronica Vest [Oklahoma Structural Engineers Association Prize]
2015
- [First Prize] Anna Eastridge, Evelyn Junco de la Puente, Cameron Roesler [OSU Museum of Art Nomadic Art-Making Studio Design-Build Competition]
2013
- [First Prize] Jennifer Lane [ACME Brick Student Design Competition]
- [Second Prize] Minwoo Hahm [ACME Brick Student Design Competition]
2012
- [Second Prize] Bailey Brown [US Stone Student Design Competition]
2008
- [Second Prize] Courtney Brown [ACSA/AISC Steel Design Student Competition, Open Category]
Student was jointly critiqued with Professor Jeff Williams.
2007
- [Honorable Mention] Brian Travis Eslick [ACSA/AISC Steel Design Student Competition, Open Category]