Today's society faces changes to the social, economic and cultural paradigm that forces schools of architecture to rethink their curricula. This is the main thesis proposed by the director of the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, Josep Lluis i Ginovart, on 7 March during the round table titled “Hablamos del Eixample: Espacio Urbano” (Let's talk about the Eixample: Urban Space). The debate was moderated by journalist Catalina Serra, and organised by the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation. The directors of all six schools of architecture of Catalonia also participated as the group analysed the historical evolution of the urban project devised by Ildefons Cerdà, and the challenges it faces today.

“The ability of schools of architecture to adapt to today’s reality is fundamental and we must ask ourselves what society expects of us. Essentially, Architecture curricula have changed little over the past few decades and we must be able to adapt to the current socio-economic context and respond to the fragility of our cities”, said Josep Lluis i Ginovart. 

During the event, the directors of the other Catalan schools of architecture (ETSAB, ETSAV, ETSA La Salle URL, UdG and URV) emphasised the unique nature of the Eixample’s urban planning model, a reference for all architecture students in Catalonia, and analysed the current transformation process with a view to adapting to the context of the climate emergency.