Alexander Ortenberg

Dr. Alexander Ortenberg received his Master of Architecture degree from the Moscow Architectural Institute and his doctorate from UCLA. He is a registered architect in the state of California and a member of the AIA (American Institute of Architects) since 1993. Doctor Ortenberg is also an active member of the Society of Architectural Historians and a member of Leadership Support Group of the SAH Women in Architecture Affiliate Group Council.

Professor Ortenberg has taught at Cal Poly Pomona since 2004. He has taught design studios at all levels, professional electives introducing the theory and practice of architectural representation (including free-hand drawing), and required lecture classes in architectural history and theory.

Professor Ortenberga's research interests are related to the history of architectural practice, architectural representation, and the history of exposition architecture. He presented papers related to these topics and chaired a number of discussion panels at several international conferences. His article, "Joy in the Act of Drawing " was published in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, March 2011. He is a co-edtor of two collections of essays, Architecture of Great Expositions 1937—1959: Messages of Peace. Images of War (edited by Rika Devos, Alexander Ortenberg, Vladimir Paperny, with Foreword by Jean-Louis Cohen, Epilogue by Lisa Schrenk. Farnham: Ashgate, 2015), and A History of Russian Exposition and Festival Architecture. 1700--2014 (edited by Alla Aronova and Alexander Ortenberg, New York and London: The Routledge, 2019). He is also a contributor to Bloomsbury Global Encyclopedia of Women in Architecture (Lori Brown and Karen Burns, general editors, London, Bloomsbury, forthcoming). This research informs Professor Ortenberg's seminars and studios, contributing to students' deeper understanding of the essence of representational vs non-representational design techniques.