UIC Barcelona School of Architecture has signed an agreement with the Fundación RIA to collaborate and exchange professional and academic experiences between both institutions. The Fundación RIA team will offer teaching support to UIC Barcelona by sharing knowledge on land regeneration. The foundation, created in 2017 by the renowned architect David Chipperfield, is renowned for its extensive research expertise in peri-urban and rural environments.

Within the framework of the agreement, a course has been launched in which fourth-year architecture students from UIC Barcelona must develop a pilot project that proposes sustainable strategies linking the built environment, nature and the economy of the Association of Municipalities of Barbanza Arousa. To kick off the course in September, students visited Casa RIA, the new headquarters of the Fundación RIA in Santiago de Compostela, where they attended the first lecture of the course and held a workshop after the field visit.

This collaboration aims to promote urban regeneration to create more attractive, accessible and inclusive spaces. Rural areas have been affected by the expansion of cities during the real estate boom without considering the physical or social structure and highlighting a lack of planning. In light of this, the Fundación RIA and UIC Barcelona intend to provide solutions to this problem.

Project revisions will be carried out during this course, as well as the final executive presentation. Students will make a cross-sectional exhibition including their implementation proposal, the concept of the idea, its materiality as well as the technical aspects of construction of each technical area.

With this agreement, UIC Barcelona School of Architecture reflects its commitment to train future architects capable of facing current challenges from a comprehensive perspective. Through the partnership with the Fundación RIA, students have the opportunity to work on real projects that address territorial regeneration and sustainable design, connecting architecture with social, economic and environmental needs.