Alexander Tzonis

Alexander Tzonis
Αλέξανδρος Τζώνης
Alexander Tzonis
Born(1937-11-08)8 November 1937
Athens, Greece
Died1 March 2026(2026-03-01) (aged 88)
SpouseLiane Lefaivre
Academic background
EducationNational Technical University of Athens
Yale University
Academic work
DisciplineAcademic, author, architect
InstitutionsYale University
Harvard University
Technical University Delft
Tsinghua University
Notable ideasDesign creativity, critical regionalism

Alexander Tzonis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Τζώνης; 8 November 1937 – 1 March 2026) was a Greek-born French architect, author and researcher. He made contributions to architectural theory, history and design cognition, bringing together scientific and humanistic approaches in a synthesis. From 1975, he collaborated in most projects with Liane Lefaivre. In 1985, he founded and directed Design Knowledge Systems (DKS), a multidisciplinary research institute for the study of architectural theory and the development of design thinking tools at TU Delft. Tzonis is known for his work on the classical canon, history of the emergence and development of modern architectural thinking, creative design by analogy, and introducing the idea of critical regionalism.