2019_02_01_ARQ_elisa_valero_swiss_architectural_award

"A rebellious ethic is not enough, we must act. The commitment to the needs of the planet leads us to think that the current systems are not sustainable, we must consider how to change them". This was stated at the University of Navarra by Elisa Valero, one of the most influential architects in Spain and the first woman in the world to win the Swiss Architectural Award (2018).

"The future of the planet is in our hands, especially in yours, the students' hands," she added during a lecture about her Recent Work as part of the events to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11).

Elisa Valero, an architect committed to environmental issues and who has carried out several projects related to architectural recycling and sustainability, stressed the importance of using waste as an architectural material as well as "changing the chip" by consuming only what is needed.

"Urban recycling is a necessity. If we had not produced so much garbage, it would probably not be necessary, but we are in a throwaway society," he explained. In his opinion, it is essential to make a cultural change: "This injustice of consuming, destroying and overexploiting the planet cannot be maintained. It is profoundly harmful and unjust, because in the end those who suffer are generally the weakest".

Architecture for children

Another of Elisa Valero's lines of work focuses on architecture for children, especially in pediatric hospitals. The architect invited students to learn from children "that creative freedom without limits, which can do everything" and spoke of creating "human spaces." "The environment influences, it is very well demonstrated. We have to try to make environments with an adequate comfort Degree , in all senses. Architecture brings everything, even the cleanliness of the air."

Elisa Valero defined architecture as "human problem solving" and stressed the importance of working with the "precision of a surgeon": "Solving problems as precisely as possible, with what is necessary, no more and no less. I believe that precision is a sine qua non of good architecture".

Regarding the role of women, he said that this profession has been mostly for men, but "there are good architects and good women architects" and it is necessary to break prejudices, prototypes and preconceived ideas". "There is still a lot to be done," he concluded.

Professor of Architectural Projects at the University of Granada, Elisa Valero is the third woman to obtain this Chair in the history of Spain. In 2016 she received the accredited specialization of honor in the arcVision Prize and has recently been nominated in the EU Mies Award 2019 for the "Rehabilitation of the conference room of Exhibitions in the Convent of Santo Domingo". Author of almost 200 scientific articles, she directs the group of research RNM909 Efficient Housing and Urban Recycling at the University of Granada.

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