Fernando Nieto is an architect and scholar based in Tampere, Finland. He is Professor of Architectural Design at the Tampere School of Architecture, Tampere University, where he leads the research group Spatial & Speculative Research in Architectural Design (SPREAD). Previously he has done research and has taught architectural design at Aalto University in Helsinki, ETH Zurich in Switzerland and the Madrid School of Architecture, Technical University of Madrid (ETSAM-UPM).

As an architect, his professional work has been recognised with the first prize in the architectural competitions for the construction of the Municipal Civic Centre in Boecillo (Valladolid) and the Public Library and Socio-Cultural Centre “Aduanas del Mar” in Jávea (Alicante). His built work has been published in specialised media, exhibited at venues such as the IV Conference of Architects of Spain in Valencia or the Museum of Spanish Contemporary Art Patio Herreriano in Valladolid, and recognised at the 8th Architectural Awards in Castilla y León and the 5th Enor Architectural Awards. He is a registered architect at the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) and the Professional Association of Architects of Madrid (COAM). Since 2015 he is the COAM correspondent in Finland.

As a researcher, he has obtained various research grants such as “la Caixa” Postgraduate Fellowship and the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship for Foreign Scholars and Artists. His research work has been runner-up at the 11th Biennial Competition for Doctoral Dissertations in Architecture arquia/tesis (2017) by Fundación Arquia, awarded at the 14th Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (XIV BEAU, 2018) and distinguised at the COAM Awards (2022 and 2025). He is the author of the book Habitar la norma: Proyecto de vivienda y sistemas normativos (Nobuko/Diseño Editorial, 2021), co-editor of the books Loneliness and the Built Environment (Tampere University, 2021) and Arquitectura de la soledad (Ediciones Asimétricas, 2024), and guest editor of the special issue Casas en Finlandia / Houses in Finland of the journal Casas Internacional (2022).

As an educator, he is responsible professor of design and theory courses on public buildings and housing design at Master’s level, as well as supervisor and evaluator of Master’s and doctoral theses. He has been guest lecturer at the Master’s Degree in Advanced Architectural Design at ETSAM-UPM, the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Architecture and the Francisco de Vitoria University in Madrid.

As an editor, he is founder member and co-editor-in-chief at the HipoTesis research platform since 2009. His editorial, collaborative work has been published in journals such as Arquitectura Viva and AV Proyectos, exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale (2018) and awarded at the 8th Latin American Biennial of Architecture and Urban Planning (VIII BIAU, 2012), the 13th Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (XIII BIAU, 2016) and the FAD Awards in the category of Thought and Critique (ex aequo, 2016).

He holds a PhD in Advanced Architectural Design (Excellent Cum Laude with International Mention) and a Master of Advanced Studies in Collective Housing, both from the Department of Architectural Design at ETSAM-UPM, and a Master’s Degree in Architecture from the Valladolid School of Architecture, University of Valladolid.

Photo: Anne Kinnunen