Juan Gabriel Moreno

Juan Gabriel Moreno, AIA, is an award-winning architect and President/Founder of JGMA (Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects). Mr. Moreno was born in Bogota, Colombia and studied architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He also lived in Florence, Italy where he studied under Superstudio founders Christiano Toraldo di Francia and Gianni Pettena.

Mr. Moreno has been creating provocative works for more than 30 years. His portfolio includes having worked on projects throughout the United States and internationally. These projects represent a diverse portfolio of public and private work in typologies ranging from education, government, research, commercial, urban planning, product design and graphic design. However, in 2010 he launched JGMA with the sole purpose of transforming Chicago’s diverse communities with his architecture. Since then, JGMA has become one of the most highly acclaimed design firms in Chicago.

JGMA’s list of awards and recognition has been unparalleled. JGMA has been a Design Excellence Award recipient multiple times by AIA Chicago at Designight. The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has awarded JGMA their Architectural Excellence Award in multiple consecutive years. JGMA won the Architecture MasterPrize Firm of the Year Award. Architizer recently selected JGMA as one of the 20 Best Architecture firms in Chicago. Architect magazine selected JGMA as one of the top design firms in the nation in their annual Top 50 in Design. JGMA was recognized by Crain’s Business as one of the architecture firms “Reshaping Chicago”. JGMA was also recognized as Best of Practice by The Architect’s Newspaper. In addition, JGMA was selected by Modern Interiors magazine as the “Best Architecture Firm” in their annual Best of Design Issue.

Juan Moreno’s personal dedication to community and social justice has been recognized both locally and internationally. He was recently awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Northeastern Illinois University in recognition of his accomplishments. Mr. Moreno also had the honor of being recognized by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos as one of the “100 COLOMBIANOS” for 2013 and was a recipient of the 2013 “PIECE” Award for International Excellence which recognizes Colombians working outside of the country and making a difference in the lives of children and communities.

Moreover, Mr. Moreno has been on the city of Chicago’s Design Excellence Committee from the onset and has played an important role in the development of the design excellence standards of the city. He was selected by the Chicago Department of Planning and Development to be one of the inaugural members of the Committee on Design. Mr. Moreno is also a board member of the Chicago Architecture Biennial and the Chicago Architecture Center.