Who we are
We are a group of academics and professionals bringing unusual backgrounds, experiences and insights to bear for the betterment of urban life.
What we do
We help people understand urbanization at various scales and across various topics as well as actively engaging with them in the creation of better places.
How we do it
We deploy analytical techniques that gain power and produce value through their application to geography, spatial planning and urban design.
People
Carlos Arnaiz
Carlos Arnaiz is an architect, educator, writer and urban design consultant. He is the CEO & co-founder of SURBA, the founder and principal of CAZA, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design at Pratt Institute where he teaches a class on the history of ideas about the city and a studio on multi-family housing. His professional experience ranges from the design and construction of large-scale mixed-used complexes to the development of strategic sustainability plans for new cities around the world. Carlos holds a Master’s Degree, with Honors, from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor’s Degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Williams College.
Gaby San Roman
Gaby San Roman has been an integral member of CAZA & SURBA since 2017. As a project leader for several cross-scale and multidisciplinary projects worldwide, she held key design roles on large-scale urban, landscape, and architectural projects. She is currently leading a significant market redevelopment. Previous projects include eco-industrial parks, preservation & resort developments, mixed-use transit developments, civic and community buildings, affordable housing, and the Post Pandemic Research Initiative.
Gaby holds a Master’s Degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Professional Degree, with honors, and Architecture License CAP from Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas in Peru.
Peter G. Rowe
Peter G. Rowe is the Co-Founder and Chairman of SURBA: Studio for Urban Analysis. He is also the Raymond Garbe Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Harvard University and a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. He served as Dean of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard from 1992 to 2004, and was Chairman of the Urban Planning and Design Department there from 1988 until 1992, and Director of the Urban Design Programs from 1985 until 1990. Prior to Harvard, Rowe served as the Director of the School of Architecture at Rice University from 1981 to 1985 and also directed many multi-disciplinary research projects through the Rice Center, where he was Vice President from 1978 onwards, and at the Southwest Center for Urban Research. He has also served several other cultural and academic institutions, including the Center for Canadian Architecture, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and the Cities Programme of the London School of Economics, as well as holding several honorary professorships in China, as well as in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Currently, he is also a High-Level Foreign Expert and Guest Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Rowe’s research and consulting are extensive and international in scope, including subjects dealing with matters of cultural interpretations and design, as well as urban formation in relationship to issues of economic development, housing provision, resource sustainability, and historic conservation. A recognized critic and lecturer in the field of architecture and urban design, in addition to numerous articles, Rowe is the author, co-author, or editor of thirty books.