After defending her thesis , supervised by Ana Sánchez-Ostiz and Joaquín Torres, the former student of Master's Degree management design management of Buildings (MDGAE) explains in this interview what led her to develop her thesis the keys to Building , and the most suitable materials to achieve it:

Why did you choose this topic? 

Thermal and acoustic insulation is one of the most effective strategies for improving comfort, but in many Latin American contexts it is still achieved using materials that have a high environmental impact or are difficult to access.

My research on the idea that it is possible to meet these needs with local resources and agro-industrial waste, transforming an environmental problem into an opportunity for sustainable construction and integrating energy efficiency, Economics , and availability . 

Why is it important to move toward construction with less environmental impact?

The construction sector plays a core topic role core topic reducing emissions and manager the use manager resources, and architects can have a direct impact through their choice of materials and construction systems. This transition must be based on technical evidence that guarantees its viability.

The thesis on Peru and Chile...

In these countries, there is high demand for housing and a large availability residual biomass, so moving toward low-impact solutions not only reduces embodied energy but also opens up the possibility of developing accessible proposals that are adapted to the territory and have a social impact. 

What role does thermal and acoustic insulation play in Building ?

Insulation is essential because it reduces the building's energy demand and directly improves people's quality of life. In diverse climates and contexts with housing vulnerability, a well-designed envelope allows for comfortable conditions to be achieved with lower energy consumption.

In this research, bio-based materials such as wheat straw, rice husks, and macroalgae have demonstrated that they can achieve competitive thermal and acoustic performance with much lower embodied energy. This confirms that sustainability can also be built from local resources, combining knowledge , energy validation, and design .

Karin Rodríguez with the panel and her thesis supervisors thesis