Rate My Professor David Franco

David Franco serves as Director of the School of Architecture and Associate Professor of Architecture at the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs, University of Texas at Arlington, assuming the role on July 1, 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Co-Director of Architecture Graduate Programs and Associate Professor of Architecture at Clemson University School of Architecture. His earlier academic positions include Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Idaho (2013-2014) and various roles at the Institute of Technology of the San Pablo CEU University in Madrid from 2006 to 2013, such as Associate Professor in Architectural Design Studios, Director of the Architecture Thesis Program, and Postgraduate Theory Course Coordinator. Franco earned his Ph.D. in Architectural and Urban History and Theory from Escuela Politécnica Superior USPCEU, Madrid (2015), with a dissertation titled ‘A journey to reality: Critique and Simulacrum of the Everyday in the Definition of a New Architecture of Realism’; a Master of Advanced Studies on Architectural Research from ETSAM UPM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (2010); and a Master of Architecture from the same institution (2001). He is a licensed architect in Spain since 2001.

Franco's research investigates how social inequalities and political conflicts shape the built environment and modern architecture, influencing both his scholarly publications and design practice centered on social infrastructures, affordable housing, and public spaces. He co-founded the Environmental Justice Design Lab at Clemson University, where student projects received 23 national awards, including 11 AIA COTE Top Ten Awards. As principal and founder of MISC arquitectos since 2004, he has led award-winning projects such as the Youth House in Santoña, Spain (1st Prize, built 2007), Public Square in Santoña, Spain (built 2011), and Sports Hall in Graz, Austria (2012). His work has earned over 16 international competition awards, including two EUROPAN prizes, and a nomination for the Iakov Chernikov Prize for young masters of contemporary architecture. Projects and articles have been featured in international publications and exhibited at the Venice Biennale, Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris, Matadero Art Center in Madrid, and Canary Islands Art & Landscape Biennale. Select publications include 'Everydayness, Subversion or Utopia: Political Content and Innovation in the Architecture of Critical Realism' (Constelaciones Academic Journal, 2014), 'Lessons learned in 1968: The Brief Repoliticization of European Modern Architecture' (BAc Boletín Académico, 2018), and 'Realismo, táctica y espectáculo. Crítica de lo cotidiano en la suburbia de Venturi y Scott Brown' (Ra. Revista de Arquitectura, 2017). In 2026, he presented 'From Utopia to Equality: The Politics of Emancipation in Modern Social Housing' at the CAPPA Forum.