Francisco González de Canales PHOTO: Manuel Castells

"Currently, technological innovation and the city are the most present topics in architecture," said Francisco González de Canales, professor at the Architectural Association of London, during his talk at visit to School of Architecture of the University of Navarra. Along these lines, he stressed the importance of understanding the city as a social, political and cultural entity: "To make a more sustainable world, we must first be able to establish a certain cohesion among ourselves. If we cannot sustain ourselves among people, we will not be able to sustain nature.

The expert also referred to the new production mechanisms: "Digital technologies are transforming the way we produce; although architecture is based on reinvention, nowadays we can also experiment. Processes are changing industrial architecture as we understood it until now."

On the other hand, he spoke about the context of the architectural sector today with respect to previous times: "Spain was a reference in the 80s and 90s. Today it has lost its central role, but that is because there are currently no national cohesions," he said. To which he added the following: "It is difficult to say that there are specific places where better architecture is taking place, since people are mobilized in such a way that progression and development are more dispersed". "You can find small concentrations of innovative architects, but the result of the work and the projection is happening anywhere in the world," he concluded.

Young international architect

Doctor of Architecture from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Sevilla, he is a professor at this center and at the Architectural Association of London. He is also issue one of his class of Master's Degree at Harvard University.

In the past he has developed research tasks at the University of Seville, Catholic University of Chile, National Autonomous University of Mexico and Harvard University through various grant and scholarship programs. His research has focused on areas of cultural conflict, where nature and multidisciplinarity become tools core topic of integration.
He has collaborated as an architect with Foster and Partners in London. In 2003 he opened his office Canales & Lombardero with Nuria Álvarez Lombardero. Since its inception, the office has placed research as the driving force behind its activities.

He is also curator of the exhibition 'First Works: Emerging Architectural Experimentation of the 1960s and 1970s' recently hosted by the University of Navarra.