The School of Architecture has signed in Santa Cruz (Bolivia) a partnership agreement with the Pan-American Federation of Architects Associations (FPAA) called "Foro America".

Schools and professional associations of the countries belonging to the FPAA will be able to join agreement . The first architects' associations to join have been the high school of Architects of Bolivia and the high school of Architects of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, which will be founding associations.

The Forum was created with three objectives: training of professionals, partnership with local universities and promotion of research in Ibero-American architecture.

As for training for professionals, the America Forum aims to promoteonline and in-person training of local professionals in areas of mutual interest, previously agreed with the professional high school in the area, especially: energy rehabilitation, sustainability, real estate, city and planning and hospital architecture.

The agreement also establishes the creation of a Foro America Scholarship program, with the goal to promote the specialized training of architects through the master's degrees offered by the University: design and Theory of Architecture, Sustainability and Real Estate.

The Americas Forum also plans to partner with local universities that collaborate on a regular basis with the schools in each country. In this sense, the Forum will invite universities that join through their schools to participate in the CT Lab, intensive work on joint projects in a selected city (this activity has been carried out for three years at School of Architecture in Navarra and has been worked on in Bilbao, Logroño and the island of La Palma). In addition, the Forum will organize trips to Spain for students or professionals interested in learning about Spanish architecture (for example, Drawing Architecture in Spain) and exhibitions (such as Curriculum and Experience).

Regarding goal to promote research, the Americas Forum intends to promote the realization of doctorate to local architects without interrupting their professional degree program or professor. The research would be carried out through the School's doctorate Programs(Program in Applied Creativity and Program in Architecture).

There are three partners that make up the America Forum: the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra, as partner for the research and provider of the training; the FPAA, which provides the unity of the project to all America; and the professional associations, which provide the unity of the region and of the universities of its area of influence, and elaborates the formative program.

Eduardo Domingo, director of development of the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra, and Gerardo Montaruli, president of the FPAA FOTO: Cedida

The president of the FPAA, Gerardo Montaruli, emphasized: "The Forum has become an impulse for the training of professionals from all over the Americas. It is a cross-cutting project in which each country will have the opportunity to adapt it to its needs". On the other hand, Eduardo Domingo, director of development of the School of Architecture, added that "working with the Federation is an opportunity to consolidate the expansion of the University throughout the American continent".

After the signature of the agreement framework between the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra and the FPAA, the high school professional who wishes to join only has to propose it to the monitoring committee of the America Forum and commit to carry out at least one activity per year and seek funding. 

The Forum was presented to the countries that are part of the FPAA during the meeting of the Andean region that took place in Santa Cruz (Bolivia) during the last week of March. In addition, as the first activity of the Forum in this country, the School participated with the sample Curriculum, which collects the Final Projects Master's Degree of Latin American architects graduated from the University of Navarra, in the XV International Symposium of Architecture organized by the high school of Architects of Santa Cruz.

The sample Curriculum of the School of Architecture was presented at the XV International Symposium of Architecture in Santa Cruz, Bolivia PHOTO: Cedida