As the world faces an escalating threat of disaster, the solutions for resilience seem obvious: build better and smarter, and invest in infrastructure. Yet we often ignore common sense approaches and build ever-higher levels of risk into our built and natural environments. In his talk, Eric Cesal will explore contemporary contradictions in disaster and resilience, dissecting the social, legal and economic forces that drive risk into our built environment.

Eric Cesal is an analyst, writer, designer, builder and humanitarian based in San Francisco, CA. He grew up in Washington, D.C. and holds an undergraduate degree in Architectural Studies from Brown University and Master’s Degrees in Architecture, Construction Management and Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. He was Architecture for Humanity’s last executive director, after having worked with the organisation since 2006 and led its Haiti Rebuilding Centre from 2010-2012. His book, Down Detour Road: An Architect in Search of Practice, is a memoir/manifesto that is widely acknowledged as a roadmap to 21st-century architecture.

Organised by the Master’s Degree in International Cooperation: Sustainable Emergency Architecture at the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture and Roca, the second edition of Development by Design aims to highlight the role of architects and planners in the context of poverty, disaster, confl¬ict and rapid urbanisation.

If “starchitecture” isn’t dead, then it has surely been rendered irrelevant in a world struggling to provide decent living conditions to at least a quarter of its population. A growing network of architects and urban planners are busy tackling the challenges posed by realities such as unprecedented urban growth, climate change and conflict, grasping them as opportunities to build a more just and sustainable future. As such, resilience, sustainable urban development, the effects of mass migration on cities, community participation, post-disaster response and disaster risk reduction are key issues within our master’s programme that merit emphasis beyond the classroom and that today more than ever resonate with urban practitioners and the general public.

In a series of talks to be held between December and February, three guest speakers will talk about their work with affected communities across the world, highlighting new approaches to the provision of shelter, housing, spatial justice and resilience.

1 December 2016: Alejandro Haiek
16 January 2017: Clara Irazabal
2 February 2017: Eric Cesal

Roca Barcelona Gallery, Joan Güell 211-213, 08028 Barcelona
2 February 2017, at 7 p.m. 

Free admission, please register