Echarri holds undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Architecture from the University of Navarra. During his professional career, he has combined work as a teacher, researcher and practising architect, taking part in over twenty architectural projects. His dedication to the university world spans over thirty years as a faculty member and researcher. 

According to the new director, the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture is involved in several interesting research initiatives with the development of patents. To him, the challenge lies in continuing to promote research at the School and increasing both its scientific output and presence in high-impact journals. He underscores the importance of securing further resources for research from public authorities, taking part in tenders for R&D+i projects and increasing the number of agreements with companies.

 Echarri has spent most of his academic career at the University of Alicante, where he became a tenured lecturer in 2000 and was named full university professor in February 2021. His has a highly positive outlook on the potential of the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, where he lectured in 1997, and the professional experience of its teaching staff. “The vast majority of the lecturers work in architectural projects, mostly in architecture studios, some of which are highly renowned”, he explained. 

Another of Echarri’s objectives is to have a greater impact among students. “We have succeeded in portraying our profession as a genuine service to society, to others. We want our students to make more of a human contribution, through their convictions, honesty and integrity,” he added. 

To him, another of the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture’s key characteristics is internationalisation. “We have a very lively, participatory school, and internationalisation provides highly beneficial added value, thanks to the exchange of cultures and ideas between students and faculty, and I think that it is one of the few projects of its kind in Spain,” he concluded. 

Echarri has supervised nine doctoral theses and published over fifty articles in indexed journals, in addition to eleven book chapters. He holds four patents related to the application of cutting-edge ceramic materials in Architecture and the conditioning of architectural spaces. He has also made a number of contributions to international congresses. In addition, he is a member of the editorial board of the journals inCyTA and International Journal of Heritage Architecture.

The management team will rely on the continuing collaboration of Josep Lluis i Ginovart, who will serve as assistant director and has made his teaching, research and School management expertise available to Dr Echarri.