On January 13 and 14, the students of Master's Degree University in Architecture and Sustainability attended the International Workshop at the Campus of the University of Navarra in Madrid, where they had the participation of Francesca Galeazzian engineer specialized in sustainability. 

Inés Hernández Redondo, a student at Master's Degree, shares with us what the experience has been like.

The international workshop started with the presentation of Professor Francesca Galeazzi, an engineer with more than 25 years of experience in the field of sustainability, who currently works for business KPMG. Together with Professor Ana Sanchez-Ostiz, she was in charge of leading both the theoretical classes and the corrections of project of design sustainable.

After a tour of his professional degree program , which included his time at business Arup to his current position at KPMG, the first theoretical class focused on an introduction to sustainability in architecture and design projects to address the global climate crisis.

These projects, from both Building and urban planning, follow common strategies that touch on the environmental, economic and social domains of sustainability. Examples were presented such as the Arup Campus in the United Kingdom, a naturally ventilated office tower in Shanghai, and the project of the FIFA stadium in Doha.

Finally, we delved into one of Francesca's most recent projects: the high school Druk White Lotus in Ladakh, India. This center educational not only teaches the children of the region, but also preserves cultural traditions based on Tibetan Buddhism, while preparing them to cope with life in the 21st century. The engineers and architects involved in its design combined traditional construction techniques with modern methods, with the goal aim of making the buildings more effective in the extreme climate of the area.

After the first two theoretical classes, the statement of the project of design that we were to develop during the workshop was presented: to design a low environmental impact building to house an artists' residency program on a plot located a few meters from Campus in Madrid. The building was to include both private and public spaces for three residents, use local materials and techniques where possible, integrate the concept of health and wellbeing of the occupants, and consider the acoustic impact of the nearby road.

We organized ourselves in groups of six people to start developing the first ideas of project, while counting on the corrections and advice of professors Francesca and Ana. At the end of the workshop, we had a theoretical class on climate change and circularity, where we explored strategies to address our design projects and the current challenges of architecture.

During the second workshop, we continued working in groups and preparing the presentations, which were exposed at the end of the day. At average morning, we had a theoretical class on comfort, wellbeing and integration of nature in architecture, learning the latest strategies focused on the people who inhabit the buildings, such as the importance of natural light, the use of natural materials and the integration of nature in the interiors.

Finally, each group presented the sustainable designs we had worked on during the two days of the workshop. The presentations, of about 10 minutes each, were followed by corrections and comments from both teachers.

Throughout the workshop, we learned the importance of integrating sustainability into architecture and urban design , focusing not only on energy efficiency and the reduction of environmental impact, but also on the well-being of people and the preservation of local cultures. The theoretical classes provided us with the instructions to address the climate crisis through design, while the group practices allowed us to apply this knowledge in real projects. The corrections and comments from the teachers were fundamental to improve our proposals, highlighting the need for a holistic approach that takes into account environmental, social and economic needs. Undoubtedly, this workshop has provided us with tools and strategies core topic to face the current challenges in the field of sustainable architecture.

Written by: Inés Hernández Redondo, student of Master's Degree University in Architecture and Sustainability.