John A. Loomis

John Loomis is the author of, Revolution of Forms: Cuba's Forgotten Art Schools, published by Princeton Architectural Press. This book examines the convergence and collision of architecture, ideology, and culture in 1960s Cuba through the architectural design for the Escuelas Nacionales de Arte. The attention that his book has brought to these works of architecture encouraged the Cuban government to commit to their restoration, and to declare them national monuments in November 2010. In addition, the book has provided the inspiration for a documentary film, Unfinished Spaces by Alysa Nahmias, an art installation Utopía Posible at the 2009 Gwangju Biennial by Felipe Dulzaides, and an opera, Revolution of Forms, being developed with Robert Wilson as director.

John Loomis's other writings have appeared in Design Book Review, Casabella, Progressive Architecture, and many other publications. He holds a Bachelor of Arts With Distinction in art history from Stanford University and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University. He practiced and taught architecture in New York until 1996 when he moved California. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Getty Research Institute and a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University. From 1998 to 2002 he was Chair of Architecture at the California College of Arts and Crafts. In June 2002 he co-chaired in Havana the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) International Conference: "Architecture, Culture and the Challenges of Globalization". In December 2002 he was a member of the California Business Delegation to Cuba. He is currently a professor of design at San José State University.