San Juan del Sur, Rivas Mar 28, 2025 (Issuewire.com) - Internationally acclaimed architect Pedro Joaquín Martínez Zellner announces the launch of ELAN, a pioneering postgraduate school of architecture in Nicaragua.
ELAN offers an immersive, bilingual program focused on tropical design, sustainability, and community engagement.
The inaugural Summer Traveling Studio runs from June 1 to September 1, 2025, in Managua, Granada, Leon, and San Juan del Sur.
For the ideal ELAN candidate Martínez Zellner offers three prompts:
1/ Are you ready to break free from the status quo? Can you reignite your creativity, foster critical thinking, and connect with real-world construction experiences and a global peer network that reflect the diverse cultures of our world?
2/ Will you be part of shaping the future of architecture from the Equator? How can emerging regions like Nicaragua become the catalysts for a new wave of global architectural innovation, driven by your fresh perspectives and your untapped potential?
3/ Can you afford to be left behind by the AI revolution? Has traditional architectural education really prepared you for a future where AI is already redefining the built environment and the profession?
Located in the vibrant, lush and historically significant coastal town of San Juan del Sur, Rivas, Nicaragua, ELAN will offer a transformative educational experience for talented young local and international postgraduate architects rooted in experimental analogue and AI powered digital experimenta design innovation, sustainability, hands-on construction instruction and local community engagement.
Building on the success of Martinez Zellner’s pioneering Free School of Architecture (FSA) in Los Angeles, ELAN will expand its mission to empower the next generation of architects through a unique, educational model.
“ELAN is not just a school; it’s an optimistic new architectural movement, aimed at realigning architecture with a dynamic emerging multipolar world, creating an effective alternative architectural network,” says Martinez Zellner.
“The ambitious, radical 21st century architect must create new architectural systems and symbols for a new world, made for and by the people, to be built upon by future generations,” he emphasizes.
**Program Highlights:**
- **Immersive Learning**: Hands-on education emphasizing collaboration and personal development.
- **Cultural Context**: Deep engagement with Nicaragua's cultural and environmental nuances.
- **Innovative Curriculum**: Combining traditional techniques with cutting-edge technologies like AI rendering.
- **Competitive Tuition**: Highly competitive fees for international students; Nicaraguan students attend tuition-free.
ELAN aims to empower the next generation of architects by creating a dynamic architectural network aligned with a multipolar world.
About ELAN’s Founding Director Pedro Joaquín Martinez Zellner
Martinez Zellner’s commitment to architectural education is notable.
As a Visiting Professor on four continents and the founder of the Free School of Architecture (FSA) in Los Angeles, he has been recognized for his innovative approach to pedagogy.
As noted by Mackenzie Goldberg on Archinect, Martinez Zellner “…challenges traditional architectural education, offering a radical alternative that prioritizes creativity and critical thinking over profit.”
“Peter” Pedro Joaquín Martínez Zellner is a dual Australian-US citizen born of Nicaraguan and Romanian parents, with over 30 years of leadership experience in architecture, urban design, and education across the globe.
Initially trained at RMIT in Melbourne Australia, Martinez Zellner is a Harvard Graduate School of Design alumnus and a former thesis student of Dutch Pritzker prize winner Rem Koolhaas. Having taught and practiced architecture on four continents, Martinez Zellner has distinguished himself as a thought leader, widely published author, scholar, public advocate and multilingual artist.
He has designed and built award-winning projects across five continents as an architect and builder, including the Casa Anaya in Tijuana, Baja California Mexico, Matthew Marks Gallery in Los Angeles, California (in collaboration with the eminent painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly,) the University of California Riverside Sweeney Fine Arts Gallery, the Maccarone Gallery in New York City and the Snow House in Melbourne, Australia.
His unbuilt works include a massive Team Master Plan for the Los Angeles Arts District, a multi million square meter mixed use scheme in Dubai designed with Ross Wimer, a 400 unit Planning Development agreement in Dorchester, Massachusetts and a remarkable competition entry the Museo Nacional de la Memoria Histórica in Bogotá in collaboration with Consultoría Colombiana S.A., designed while Martinez Zellner served as Los Angeles Design Director for global infrastructure giant AECOM.
His work and reviews of his two books for Thames and Hudson have been featured in The New York Times, Le Monde, Architectural Record, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times and Harper’s Bazaar
In 2013 was a Japan Foundation Architecture Fellow and travelled through Japan. He has lectured widely at the University of Tokyo, ESA in Paris, the University of Innsbruck, the Cooper Union, the OSU Knowlton School of Architecture, Tongi University and SCI-Arc..
**Media Available for Press:**
For interviews, images, or additional information, please contact Martinez Zellner at ELAN.Director1@gmail.com
Media on request and via download from a secure server includes:
- San Juan del Sur promotional photography and videography;
- Oficina Martínez Zellner Architectural Images;
- Headshots of Pedro Joaquin Martinez Zellner;
- Short Video Statements by ELAN Director Pedro Joaquin Martinez Zellner;
- Live ELAN Website Launch with Application Information and Program Brochure on 1.4.25
Follow ELAN
https://www.instagram.com/ela__nica/
ELAN Escuela Libre de Arquitectura, Nicaragua
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Substack
https://elanicaraga.substack.com/p/elan
Media Contact
ELAN Escuela Libre de Arquitectura Nicaragua elan.director1@gmail.com https://elanicaraga.substack.com/p/elan
