Paola Aguirre

Chicago

Paola Aguirre Serrano is an urban designer and partner at Borderless since 2016. A native from the Mexico-U.S. region – Paola is an active civic design steward. She has served as Commissioner of Chicago Landmarks and the Cultural Advisory Council of the City of Chicago, and currently serves in the Scholarly Advisory Committee for the National Museum of the American Latino. Paola received a B. of Architecture from the Institute Superior de Arquitectura y Diseño de Chihuahua, and M. of Architecture in Urban Design from the Harvard School of Design. She’s been acknowledged by Next City Vanguard’s 40 Under 40 (2016), Impact Design Hub’s 40 Under 40 (2017), Newcity Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago (2018, 2020), Emerging Planner Award by the American Planning Association – Illinois Chapter (2018), Field Foundation Civic Leader for Racial Equity (2019), Chicago United for Equity Fellow (2019), AIA Chicago’s Distinguished Service Award (2020), and The Americans for the Arts Pérez Prize in Public Art & Civic Design (2022).