Professor Annette Spiro has been appointed dean of ETH Zurich’s Department of Architecture. A professor of architecture and construction at ETH Zurich since 2007, Spiro has taught at universities in Switzerland, Spain, and Brazil. An authority on Brazilian architecture, she has written numerous books and articles on the subject and is the author and editor of the monograph Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Bauten und Projekte (2002). Her two most recent books, Über Putz. Oberflächen entwickeln und realisieren and The Working Drawing: The Architect’s Tool (2013), received the DAM Architectural Book Award for 2012 and 2014, respectively.

A practicing architect, Spiro is co-founder of the firm Annette Spiro + Stephan Gantenbein Architects in Zurich, established in 1991. From 2002 to 2010 she served as a member of the Urban Committee in the city of Uster, Switzerland. She is member of the steering committee of Sitterwerk Sankt Gallen and has served on numerous juries and faculty recruiting committees. Spiro studied goldsmithing and jewellery design at the Zurich School of Art and Design and received her Masters degree in architecture from the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich.