Etien Santiago studies the links between building materials, culture, ideas, and politics.
He is an assistant professor at the Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program in Columbus, Indiana, where he teaches studio, architectural history, and structures courses. Previously, he worked for architectural firms such as the Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Etien received a Ph.D. in Architecture from Harvard University, a post-professional M.Arch. with distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a B.Arch. and B.A. cum laude from Rice University.
His Ph.D. dissertation retraces how World War I ignited and shaped modern architects’ obsessive search for mass-produced housing based on advanced construction techniques. This research has been supported by grants from the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Harvard Center for European Studies, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.
Etien’s awards include the 2021 Society of Architectural Historians Founders’ Award, the Harvard GSD James Templeton Kelley Thesis Prize, a Distinction in Teaching Award from the Derek Bok Center for Learning and Teaching, the American Institute of Architects School Medal, and the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts.