Gabriela Bustos

Gabriela I. Bustos L., DArch, MIA, ARCH embraces her competencies (skills, knowledge and experience) as a bilingual Venezuelan architect and artist living in Milwaukee since 2011. Gabriela’s emphasis and passion centers on: Digital Technology through virtual reality. She accomplished her studies at the School of Art “Julio Árraga” in Maracaibo-Venezuela, completing the Visual Arts mention, majoring in Painting and Interior Design. Gabriela’s degrees with honors include: a Bachelor Degree in Architecture with a Summa Cum Laude award, an honorable and publishing mention in a Masters in Informatics in Architecture; and an honorable and publishing mention Doctorate in Architecture at the University of Zulia, Venezuela (LUZ).

She embraced her education and shared her knowledge as a professor and a researcher at The University of Zulia (LUZ), from 1999 to 2015. Her emphasis in her research focuses on the implementation of virtual reality during the process of architecture design in studio teaching. Her numerous awards include the honor of best research at Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics (SiGraDi) on 2002; she was elected by vote to be part of the International Executive Committee of SiGraDi (2010-2014); and was SiGraDi Coordinator of Communications (2012-2014). She led, designed and implemented digital programs of virtual reality at the School of Architecture and Design, University of Zulia (Maracaibo, Venezuela). She served as the Director of the Master of Informatics in Architecture Program, Coordinator and Chair of Digital Art at the Contemporary Art Museum of Zulia, Venezuela from 2008-2011, and was Director, Interactive Architecture, Digital Design Program, Virtual Reality and Interactivity Mention 2009-2011.

Gabriela has left her imprint in research by discovering the implications of the design teaching-learning process, concretely in architectural and interior design, with the use of Digital Technology through virtual reality and interactive multiuser living worlds in architectural design studios. Gabriela continues researching to generate transformable and/or adaptable architectural design, as a teacher of Architectural Studio at LUZ. Gabriela introduced this contemporary vision of digital design in the school of Architecture and Design at LUZ. She has multiple publications regarding technological implementations in architecture, from the foundation of theoretical positions (founded in Complex Epistemology) to the practice of the architecture field and developing digital tools.

Gabriela’s achievements are recognized with numerous awards, one of which was second place in research nationwide productivity in Venezuela, the “Program of Stimulus to Innovation and Investigation, Level C”award (2011-2013).

She has served with the Pa-Kua Group International as an Architect Assistant in Residential Buildings (2011-2015). Currently Gabriela is leading the project: AHEAD (Affordable House for Emergency Assistance after Disasters) which examines the implementation of digital technology to serve the need of building emergency housing in case of natural disasters. AHEAD is a flexible, lightweight, and portable housing created with algorithmic design.

Gabriela continues to share her knowledge as she teaches Art St. Adalbert School in Milwaukee since 2015. In addition, her culture serves the community well as she is the coordinator of Hispanic Catholic Education at the Hispanic Ministry of the Archdioceses of Milwaukee and member of the Archdiocesan Planning Commission.