Alen Žunić, architect and urban designer, is the founder of the innovative Albatross – Architecture + Research Office. After his first degree and subsequent post-graduate studies at Harvard, MIT, ETH Zürich, and Columbia University NY, at the age of 30 but already with an abundance of international experience, he has assembled in his Zagreb Albatross office a team of talented young architects working projects ranging from large city-scale designs to individual buildings. The designs of Alen’s office are founded on a specific method – research design – a combination in which equal values are assigned to science and art, factuality and utopia, pragmatism/functionality, and idealism. The outcome of every assignment, accordingly, has a particular approach to a given city, public space, or building and, ultimately, a unique identity for each client. One particular segment of Alen’s work is focused on smart city approaches, not only through technological creativity but also in terms of program content, with an emphasis on devising enhanced urban experiences.
Alen Žunić is an assistant professor at the Architecture Faculty of Zagreb University, from which, at the age of 26, he took his doctorate. In addition to creating design solutions, he is also much engaged in academic research, for which he has received some of the highest awards, such as the City of Zagreb Prize and the Vera Johanides Prize for the best young scientist in Croatia, given by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He has published 15 books, either as author or as editor.
