Quilian Riano
(b. Bogotá, Colombia)
DSGN AGNC Founder and Principal
Masters of Architecture – Harvard University | Graduate School of Design
Bachelors and Design (Summa Cum Laude) – University of Florida | School of Architecture

Quilian (pronounced Killian) is a designer, writer, and educator working out of Brooklyn and Queens, New York. Quilian founded DSGN AGNC and is its principal. Quilian works with trans-disciplinary teams to research and design proposals that address the complex interactions of social, political, economic and spatial urban processes. This methodology seeks to address issues that negatively affect marginal communities with comprehensive research that can be used to propose a variety of targeted policies, actions, architectures and designs at various scales — from pamphlets to buildings to landscapes.

Quilian is committed to design education, currently teaching theory-based design and urban ecologies studios at Parsons The New School for Design in the undergraduate and graduate programs of the School of Design Strategies. Quilian has also taught architectural and urban design studios at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and the City College of New York. Quilian attended University of Florida for a Bachelors of Design in Architecture and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design for a Masters of Architecture. TEACHING CV.

Quilian has won awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, Harvard University, The Boston Society of Architects and his work has been featured at the Venice Biennale, Queens Museum of Art, Harvard University, Parsons The Neschool of Design, among others. Quilian also collaborates on a variety of architectural, urban, design and research projects with other groups, including Estudio Teddy Cruz, Archinect, Places Journal, #lgnlgn, Harvard University, Parsons The New School for Design, the Queens Museum of Art and the non-profit Architecture 2030. These projects often cross disciplinary boundaries and are located in Africa, Europe and North, Central and South America.