Oscar De las salas

Oscar De las salas - (He/Him/His)

A native of Barranquilla, Colombia, (It's Colombia. Not Columbia), Oscar De las salas is an award-winning international architectural designer with more than two decades of experience with municipal and community development projects. Since 2017, he has served as Design Manager and Business Development lead, and currently is the Clients Relationship Manager for the Gensler Phoenix office, reporting to the Southwest Region.

Oscar completed his Master’s in Architecture and Interior Architecture by the University of Salamanca in 1998 and moved directly to Arizona to study the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, School of Architecture, Taliesin West. in search of on-site information to write his thesis project about “American Modernism through the eye of Frank Lloyd Wright”. His European tenure allowed him to pursue internships in the EU within several European countries, and to work as an Interior Architect. 

Oscar’s early career led him to serve as Project Architect, and as the Interior Finishes specification lead and field coordination superintendent for four U.S. Embassies around the world: Bolivia, Colombia, Singapore, and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. As a curious note, Oscar held US Government Clearance, while working side by side with the Federal Building Office team in Washington D.C., all via Facsimile and during the early days of email correspondence. Ask him about the protocol to send secured architectural details of the ambassador’s office or the U.S. Marine’s headquarters information back then.

Oscar’s work with the community in Arizona has developed into a variety of volunteering efforts with local charities, and by infusing his personal strategies for fundraising and using all his known talents. helping to raise about 30 million dollars in the last decade, to some of the most accredited local, regional and national organizations. He was recognized for his contribution to the community by the Arizona House of Representatives and in 2019, and June 29, his birthday, was declared “Oscar Day” by City of Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.

Oscar has served for 14 years as a member of the board of Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), he is a board member with Phoenix Art Museum Circles advisory Board, and  member of the ACI (Arizona Costume Institute),  Vice-Chair of Friends of Phoenix Public Art, ArtLink Board of Directors and is part of the Finance Committee, Southwest Shakespeare Advisory Board, he is also commissioner at Phoenix Sisters Cities Board of Directors, he is also the Vice-Chair of the Urban Land Institute Arizona Chapter, Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, Committee Leadership Team, and global ambassador for PROCOLOMBIA, a  government agency of the Executive Branch of the Government of Colombia in charge of promoting Colombian non-traditional exports, international tourism and foreign investment.

His passion for design, architecture, and his early work in the fashion industry at a young age as a catalogue model, set designer and stylist, has expanded Oscar’s community and media involvement locally, making him a familiar face when it comes to the world of design and style.