Some of the most successful Latino architects are being highlighted for the second annual DISEÑO Series hosted by Cooper Hewitt and the Smithsonian Design Museum in partnership with El Museo del Barrio.

According to Cooper Hewitt, the series includes lectures, workshops and panel discussions about urban development and environmental issues. It is hosted by the people who know design best and have the resumes to prove it.

“As the nation’s design museum, we celebrate and share design’s global reach with programming that highlights the inspiring and diverse voices of contemporary design both here and abroad,” said Caroline Baumann, director of Cooper Hewitt. “Our partnership with our neighbor El Museo del Barrio for the DISEÑO series spotlights through lively discussion the significant achievements of Latino designers and architects.”

The series began on Feb. 23 and will continue well into the spring with industrial designer Emiliano Godoy and Rodrigo Corral, who is a graphic designer.

The two will discuss their work on March 23 and then take part in a workshop at El Museo del Barrio on Thursday, March 24.

Get to know three of the most popular Latino architects to be highlighted this year.

Diana Agrest (Agrest & Gandelsonas Architects)

Diana Agrest is a New York-based architect and theorist. Some of her most popular projects include the International Film Center in Shanghai, the Melrose Community Center in The Bronx, New York and residential projects like the House on Sag Pond in Southampton, New York.

One of her career highs was becoming the first woman to teach at Princeton University's School of Architecture and Planning. Along with practicing as an architect, she also happens to be a professor of architecture at the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union.

Enrique Norten (TEN Arquitectos)

Enrique Norten is a Mexican designer who has been working for over 28 years. His popular designs include the Rutgers Business School, Mexico City's Centro campus and Mercedes House in New York.

Norten has taught at a variety of schools all over the United States, including Yale, Cornell, UCLA, Parsons, the Pratt Institute and Harvard. He currently lectures at the University of Pennsylvania.

In October 2015 the designer was awarded the Neutra Award for Professional Excellence.

Mónica Ponce de León (MPdL Studio)

Mónica Ponce de León is a Venezuelan-American designer whose popular designs include the Banq restaurant in Boston, the Conrad Hotel in New York and Helios House in Los Angeles.

Her impressive resume also includes being dean of Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan since 2008, and she recently took the same position at Princeton's School of Architecture.

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