Rebeca Vicens Sánchez

Architect license # 19925 / Member, Colegio de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico (CAAPPR)

Registered architect with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design from the University of Puerto Rico and a master’s degree in Architecture from Virginia Tech. Her professional practice of 20+ years has oscillated between architectural and sociocultural initiatives. Since 2002 she has collaborated with design firms in Puerto Rico and Washington, DC on public and private residential projects. In 2011 she founded her private studio focused on exhibition and small-scale residential design. In parallel, she has collaborated with nonprofit organizations leading diverse projects in areas such as low-income housing construction, community design, arts education, and development of participatory grantmaking practices.

In 2009, she founded the nonprofit organization Transformando Nuestro Entorno, a platform to foster and support civic efforts to learn about and transform the physical environment.

Since August 2021 she collaborates as adjunct professor at the School of Architecture of the University of Puerto Rico, where she offers graduate and undergraduate architectural design studios.

Projects by Rebeca

Flora Borinqueniana

Flora Borinqueniana

Parque Ecológico Joaquina de Vedruna

Parque Ecológico Joaquina de Vedruna

Villa Prades

Villa Prades

Quintana

Quintana

  • Architect, 2011 – Present

    • Private residential and commercial design

    • Art and educational exhibitions for Fundación Ángel Ramos, Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín, Museo de la Masacre de Ponce and Para la Naturaleza

    • Interior and environmental graphics design for Fundación Ángel Ramos

    Adjunct Professor, 2021 – Present

    • School of Architecture, University of Puerto Rico

    Strategic Initiatives Director, Filantropía Puerto Rico, 2019 – 2021. Created and/or coordinated:

    • Learning to Listen, a participatory grantmaking project in areas of education, environment and governance.

    • FORWARD Puerto Rico Fund, a pooled fund that supported nonprofit organizations that advocated for an equitable recovery of the damage caused by Hurricane Maria.

    • Housing Action Dialogue, a working group for funders to learn together, strategize and align efforts around issues of housing and land security in Puerto Rico.

    Project Manager, Habitat for Humanity of Puerto Rico, 2017 – 2019

    • Coordination and oversight of design and construction activities.

    • Planning and oversight of volunteer work.

    Founder, Transformando Nuestro Entorno, 2009 – present. Created and led:

    • Joaquina de Vedruna Ecological Park, participatory design and construction of an outdoor learning space at an afterschool K-12 learning center.

    • Learning with the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), project aimed at enriching the learning experience of K-12 students through architecture.

    Project Coordinator, Fundación Ángel Ramos (FAR), 2013-2018; present

    • Sala de Exposición de Arte Fundación Ángel Ramos (SalaFAR), an exhibition venue aimed at supporting the development of visual arts in Puerto Rico.

    • Mis Espacios Públicos, initiative created by FAR in collaboration with the Ana G. Méndez University System aimed at empowering citizens to take over blighted public spaces and foster their transformation into active, safe and livable places through participatory design-build processes.

    • Director, Education Commission, Colegio de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico (CAAPPR), present

    • Member, Community Engagement Commission, CAAPPR, 2019 - 2022

    • Member, SalaFAR Artist Selection Committee, 2018 – 2025

    • Secretary, Board of Directors, Centro para la Conservación del Paisaje, 2015 – 2016

    • Member, Education Commission, CAAPPR, 2012 – 2013

  • Masters of Architecture

    • College of Architecture and Urban Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia, 2003

    Bachelor in Environmental Design.

    • School of Architecture, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1998

  • HIP Líderes Fellowship, 2020

    • Hispanics in Philanthropy Líderes Fellowship promotes reflective philanthropic practices through a social justice and racial equity lens.

    Fundación por la Arquitectura, 2007

    • Grant to design and manage Transformando Nuestro Entorno, a project aimed at enriching the learning experience of elementary school children through architecture.

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