Julio Alejandro Hernandez was born in the Dominican Republic, the son of a teacher. From 1966-67 he is recorded as a student enrolled on the postgraduate ‘Educational Building’ course run by the Architectural Association’s (AA) Department of Development and Tropical Studies, in London. Details of Hernandez’ earlier education are not yet known to us but his career appears to have been well established prior to the mid-1960s, with one of his most well-known works, the cyclopean pyramid at the Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo, having been constructed in 1958. This project, featuring a stone pyramid divided into four polyhdral sections was built at the time of the completion of the adjacent highway connecting San José de Ocoa and Constanza, also marking the former municipal boundary between the two municipalities. The pyramid is therefore popularly considered to be the geographic centre of the republic. Other important projects subsequently designed by Hernandez include a theatre in the city of La Vega and a cultural center in Santiago. Hernandez is also reported to have been a pioneer in the use of prefabricated materials in the Dominican Republic, and served as the President of the Colegio Dominicano de Ingenieros, Arquitectos y Agrimensores. Alongside his practice, Hernandez was also a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra in Santiago. His daughter is the famous singer, Maridalia Hernández.

Sources

• Architectural Association Student Register, 1945-71. AA Archives
• Architectural Association Membership Register, 1974. AA Archives                                                                                          
• Architectural Association Membership Register, 1979. AA Archives
• ‘Fallece arquitecto Julio Alejandro Hernández, padre de la cantante Maridalia Hernández,‘
• El Nuevo Diario, 27th November, 2019. Accessed 8th December, 2025: https://elnuevodiario.com.do/fallece-arquitecto-julio-alejandro-hernandez-padre-de-la-cantante-maridalia-hernandez/?ia_markup=1
• ‘Muere Julio Alejandro Hernández, creador de la Pirámide Valle Nuevo y padre de Maridalia Hernández’ El Pais, 27th November, 2019. Accessed 8th December, 2025: https://hoy.com.do/el-pais/muere-julio-alejandro-hernandez-creador-de-la-piramide-valle-nuevo-y-padre-de-maridalia-hernandez_802381.html