Emiliano López Matas was born in Argentina in 1971 and grew up in Barcelona. In 2012 he earned his doctoral degree in architecture from the Universitat Politèctina de Catalunya, with the thesis titled 6107 MSD. Peabody Terrace: Keys of a design process led by Josep Lluís Sert. In 1999 he earned a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (Real Colegio Complutense de Madrid Scholarship), and in 1997 he earned the Master "History: Art, City and Architecture" from the UPC, ETSA Barcelona. He earned his degree in architecture from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Vallès in 1996.

He is co-founder, together with partner Mónica Rivera, of their professional practice, Emiliano López Mónica Rivera Arquitectos. He has taught at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya School of Architecture, Vallés; at the Univesitat Rovira i Virgili School of Architecture, Reus; at the ESARQ, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya; and at the Elisava Escola de Disseny. He is currently Senior Lecturer in the College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design in the Sam Fox of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.

Their work has been recognized by several architecture awards, such as the 10th and 14th Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism, the 7th Iberian-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism, the AR Emerging Architecture Awards (UK), the FAD Architecture Award for Iberian architecture, and the Egurtek Wood Award. The firm's projects have been published in national and international publications such as El Croquis, A+U, Domus, Casabella and Detail, among others, and have been exhibited in venues such as the Cité de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine in Paris and the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale.