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"How to meet the new challenges of sustainable Building "

The students of the Master's Degree in design and management Environmental Buildings attended a roundtable with professionals from the world of sustainability on the occasion of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Master's Degree

On Wednesday, October 21, the students of the Master's Degree in design and management Environmental Buildings had a special class on the occasion of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Master's Degree. A roundtable was held with the participation of professionals from the world of sustainability, including Ana Sánchez-Ostiz, director of MDGAE. The goal was to share experiences and debate on "How to face the new challenges of sustainable Building ".

The round table was moderated by architect and critic Fredy Masad, who gave an overview of sustainability. Masad emphasized the evolution of sustainability, rehabilitation as a possible ally, the risks and the management involved in achieving it today.

The director of Master's Degree summarized the evolution of approach of the sustainable design in recent years as follows: "We have moved from seeking to reduce negative impacts to regenerative architecture, trying to achieve positive impacts on the environment and on people's health and comfort. It is essential to know the scenario we are facing today in order to know how to address it".

In the same vein, Amaya Osácar, president of Sustainable Buildings in Fire Escape Europe at Knauf, raised the importance of taking into account three essential aspects to achieve this goal: "The environment, social and economic. Our goal must be a balance between these variables, accompanied by programs of study and data quantifiable, so that our responses are efficient and truly sustainable".

A possible ally to achieve these objectives is rehabilitation. As Miguel Ángel Díaz, founder of MADC Arquitectos and member of the association of Architectural Sustainability, recalled, "cities are the mines of the future" (J. Jacobs). "Our challenge is to understand how we can add value through this architecture subject and its possibility to mitigate negative impacts on the environment and recreate sustainable spaces".

What are the most important challenges we have to take into account in the face of today's realities and the future? 

Amaya Osácar motivated to consider the impacts of risks that may occur in the new designs. Likewise, to study and understand the repercussions that may be generated at the social, economic and natural environment levels.

Antonio Cereceda, consultant of energy efficiency and sustainability in Valladores Ingeniería, recommended to set as goal the reduction of consumption in our proposals.

Ana Sánchez-Ostiz, as at the beginning, highlighted the need to devise new architecture that can achieve holistic environmental sustainability, generating a positive impact. "Let's think about proposals that are different from what we are used to. We could propose alternative projects such as pay-per-use where there is a circular Economics ." 

For his part, Miguel Ángel Díaz emphasized the role of students as architects: "We are the ones who make cities, and the importance of management for sustainability. We need architects in the field of management. Sustainability is a fact that depends on management".

It was an enriching evening that left the students with a challenge: identify how and where they can add value to our cities. To understand and plan their way of making sustainable architecture so that they can have a positive impact, with viable and effective proposals, on the environment, on society and on Economics.

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