IE School of Architecture & Design Newsletter - June 2021

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time to focus on THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF OUR ECOSYSTEM While hiking up Mount Teide in Tenerife in 1799, the German geographer Alexander Von Humboldt noticed a gradual change in environment according to altitude and topography. His discoveries on the island revealed a powerful relationship between living organisms and their habitat - a fundamental concept for what we understand as an ‘ecosystem’ today.  Sustainability considers how all things in this ecosystem work together. If we see architecture as a flow of energy, materials and living organisms, we can see its role in the ecosystem, and therefore understand what it means to build sustainably. Our knowledge of the ecosystem has evolved over time. In the 1970s, microbiologist Lynn Margulis and chemist James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis defined planet Earth as a highly complex ecosystem made up of several smaller, interconnected ecosystems. In this same decade, environmental activism gained greater power, and concerns for a sustainable relationship between society and nature awoke in the public conscience. Learning sustainability has been one of the greatest collective movements in our history, the result of innumerable interactions between scientists and citizens. We are still acquiring the knowledge as we apply it, but the urgency of the problem means there is little time left to experiment - instead, we must act.  Manuel Pérez Romero Chair of Center for Sustainable Cities, IE School of Architecture and Design

Vertical Campus Contest still open - until June 30 The new IE Tower opens in Madrid this September, a 180m-tall building that rethinks the traditional horizontal layout of university campuses. But what are some of the challenges and considerations for building a ‘vertical campus’?  Our Beyond the Vertical Campus competition is a chance for the brightest and most creative young minds out there to join one of our six bachelor or master programs in 2021/21. It invites you to imagine student life at the IE Tower and think about some of the most interesting issues emerging from a unique new structure like this, from residence and mobility to wellbeing and sustainability. Ideas are coming in thick and fast - but there’s still time to enter, before the deadline of June 30! SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY NOW

The future looks bright for sustainable design The new generation of designers emerging from IE are set to transform how we think about sustainability - and there’s no better proof than the final projects presented by 4th year Bachelor in Design students in Segovia last month. Edible Sea-scapes responds to the challenges that coastal fishing communities face due to climate change, while WelcomPost is a communal composting system that aims to reconnect urban households with their food sources. Form Follows Organism investigates the role of biotextiles in the fashion industry, while Alltee adds value and purpose to common product packaging. Keep an eye on our Instagram channel, where these and other pioneering pieces of design will be revealed over the coming weeks. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

Rediscovering and building on historic practices Sustainability in architecture can benefit from rediscovering traditions and practices from the past, said our director of undergraduate architectural studies David Goodman at the IE Global Alumni Weekend this month.  From natural ventilation to the use of local materials, practices considered sustainable in contemporary architecture are in fact steeped in history, he explains. Much vernacular architecture, for example, responds instinctively to its natural context and is therefore inherently environmentally conscious. Goodman also argues that there is a profound pleasure in rediscovering the age-old essence of sustainability. "We shouldn’t reduce the conversation to technologies,” he says. "It’s also one of delight and beauty." ARCHITECTURE AT IE

A retrofitting approach to urban construction In order to tackle climate change, a sharp shift in our approach to construction is called for, says architect Matan Mayer in a recent piece published by IE Insights gathering expert commentary from across IE University.  Mayer, assistant professor at IE School of Architecture and Design, argued that although new construction has its appeal, we must instead take a retrofitting approach to urban development, utilizing existing resources in order to reduce emissions and waste. “Our mission as policymakers, developers, and designers should be primarily focused on the upkeep and upgrading of our cities’ aging building stock,” he says. “This is not only what the present moment demands, it is also our obligation to the environment.” READ MORE

Subcultures, activism and urban space From punk to gaming, subcultures are largely remembered for their style and expression - but their use of space is often ignored, says our associate dean Cristina Mateo, in an article featured by architecture and design publishing platform urbanNext.  If subcultures represent a conflict with the mainstream, they need a stage upon which to enact that conflict - like the back streets of the Bronx that birthed hip hop, or the seaside resorts of southern England that provided a space for mods and rockers in the 1960s. New forms of urban activism - like the Hong Kong protestors or the Extinction Rebellion activists, who disrupted traffic and used secret locations around the city to organize - have also emerged from spatial contexts, says Mateo FIND OUT MORE

NextGen on the Spot: Sound Cities June 16, 6.pm (CEST) Online A language without words; the shorthand of emotion; the food of love… music has been defined in many ways over the centuries. But in the world of urban development, music is also a crucial tool for a city’s economic, social and cultural growth. This month, as part of our NextGen series (an international forum for young professionals from the world of real estate), we welcome Shain Shapiro, founder of Sound Diplomacy, a company specialised in the role of music and the night time economy in cities today. The session will explore how music can impact various sectors, from real estate to tourism, and strategies for promoting the value of music in sustainable development and urbanisation.  REGISTER

Chat with the Experts: What's Next in Real Estate June 17 and July 1, 6.30 pm (CEST) Online As cities and societies evolve in unprecedented ways, the construction and use of property are also transforming. This series of events puts a finger on the pulse of the latest thinking in the world of real estate, featuring experts from the sector who also teach in our Master in Real Estate Development programs. On June 17, hear from Leticia Ponz, head of the Spain branch of Union Investment Real Estate; and on July 1, urban planning lawyer Helena Beunza speaks alongside Pedro Gómez from infrastructure firm Amey. For anyone interested in pursuing a career in real estate, these events offer a sense of the sector’s most pressing issues and the skills and knowledge required to respond to them in coming years. REGISTER

An Instagram account showcasing design creativity If you want to see just how inventive students can be when promoting, developing and expanding their work, then follow Joints & Articulations on Instagram. This account was set up by our 1st year designers to display the work produced in their Collaborative Design Studio class this spring - and it has quickly become an eye-catching showcase of the rich creativity and talent of this year group. The care and intelligence that goes into creating and delivering the content for this student-led platform is inspirational for understanding how social media can be harnessed to improve learning experiences and build a greater sense of community. FOLLOW @JOINTSARTICULATIONS

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