IE School of Architecture & Design Newsletter - September 2021

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time to focus on

RENEWAL, ENERGY AND OPTIMISM

The start of the academic year is always a time to begin again with renewed energy: it is a time to get back in touch with colleagues, faculty, and students.  

This year at IE it is an exceptional time to reset.  We now have a new vertical campus in the north of Madrid, making three unique and interesting physical hubs for our institution: historic Segovia, an urban campus in the center of Madrid, and the new IE Tower. The worst of the pandemic forced many of us to work and study remotely, modify spaces for health-related protocols, and limit face-to-face meetings.  

This situation has eased, and now we can “set again” our ways of working, studying, and undertaking daily activities to respond to our current reality. The idea of reset, such as when we reset an alarm clock or start counting from zero again, also encompasses a consideration of the past as we set goals for the future.   

These last months have been challenging for each and every one of us.  I am proud of the way that students, faculty, and staff rose to the occasion with flexibility and solidarity while using creative and innovative ways to adapt.  Now, as we look to the future, our reset will be to a new starting point. We cannot and should not go back to a past state, but we can create a fresh start to our academic year.  

Let’s embrace the positive lessons we learned from the past months and appreciate the possibility of physically connecting on campus  (and digitally, too). A reset for the academic year 2021-22 means renewed energy, optimism, and opportunities for us all.

Santiago Íñiguez de Onzoño

President, IE University

Organic fashion: IE graduate exhibits at Milan Design Week

Alejandra Díaz, who graduated this year from our Bachelor in Design programme, presented her project "Form Follows Organism" this month at Salone del Mobile, during Milan Design Week 2021. 

The work featured in an exhibition called The Lost Graduation Show, which highlighted 170 projects by students who recently graduated from 48 design schools across 22 different countries. Competition to be included was fierce - Alejandra's project was selected from over 300 worldwide submissions.

The curator Anniina Koivu hopes the exhibition will act as a stimulus for schools to teach the sort of design that channels “disruptive” practices, generating responsible, intelligent and accessible projects. Follow all the exhibited works as they are posted on the @thelostgraduationshow Instagram channel.

Towering achievement: New IE campus opens its doors

Last week marked a historical moment for IE, as it kicked off the new academic year by inaugurating the 35-story IE Tower in the north of Madrid. IE's expanded campuses include two in Madrid, one in Segovia, and the essential digital campus with worldwide reach.  

Architecture and design have special facilities within the new vertical campus. Floor 22, an open plan with movable furniture, serves upper-level bachelor students as design studio for teaching and learning. Design studio, central to architecture and design education, engages students, teachers, and other stakeholders in countless activities that result in the term "studio culture" that embodies learning from each other, collaboration, continuous crits to improve ideas, and project-based learning. On level -2, we look forwars to the opening of the FabLab pro, a maker space with the latest equipment (and some traditional tools, too) where architecture and design students can realize their ideas in many formats and materials. 

Shigeru Ban at Hay Festival Segovia

This month at the 16th edition of Hay Festival Segovia, Spain's annual literary landmark, we presented renowned architect and Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban, in conversation with IE School of Architecture and Design's Dean Martha Thorne and Associate Dean David Goodman.

Ban, famed for his paper tube structures, discussed his belief in the social responsibility of the architect and how sustainability must be at the core of any deisng process. Audiences learned about some of Ban's past works, such as the IE Paper Pavilion in Madrid, and got insights into an exciting new project the architect is developing for the IE campus in Segovia.

We build to connect with people: Doshi, Gehry and Thorne in conversation 

Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design Martha Thorne moderated an intimate video conversation between renowned architects, Pritzker Prize winners and long-time friends Balkrishna Doshi and Frank Gehry. Hosted by Architectural Digest India, the wide-ranging discussion touched on the role of architecture, ownership, connection and community. Both architects share a concern for the people and communities for which they build. With Thorne, they spoke frankly about how their architecture grows out of these relationships, and shared heartfelt advice to architecture students. 

Intertwined Environments: Health and the city

In the latest episode of our Intertwined Environments podcast series, professor and Chair of the Center for Sustainable Cities Manuel Pérez Romero talks to Dutch architect and founder of UNStudio Ben van Berkel about health and the city, exploring how putting technological tools at the service of sustainable development can help build healthier cities. Created in partnership with urbanNext, Intertwined Environments considers integrated built environments that respond to current and future challenges, exploring factors and forces across the natural, physical and digital realms. 

Disruptive branding and interior design

The increasingly blurred boundaries between the physical and digital worlds have transformed approaches to branding. In this podcast by brand consultancy Saffron, Director of our Master in Strategic Interior Design Elvira Muñoz speaks with Saffron’s CEO and professor in the same Master program Jacob Benbunan about how the next generation of strategic interior designers can adapt to this new reality of branded environments. 

A post-covid city... A third space?

During the global lockdown, space became increasingly important. Our living places became something in between a home and a workspace, while the urban experience was largely removed from our lives. We realized that we need spaces that are neutral and welcoming, according to Cristina Mateo, Associate Dean of our school. In this article, she writes about “third spaces,” which address our need for social connection through urban public space and redefine our notions of office space.

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism

September 24 

Seoul, South Korea

The third edition of this biennial event in South Korea, titled Crossroads: Building the Resilient City, brings together nearly 200 participants from a hundred different cities. Fernando García Pino, architect and professor at IE School of Architecture and Design, will representour design undergraduates by taking part in the Global Studios section, which offers a space for some of the best university projects around the world. Under the theme of "refuge", the exhibition explores how architecture and urban planning can play a crucial role in shaping socio-political decisions by building an intimate relationship between mankind and its environment.

Open House Madrid

September 24 and 25, Different times

IE Paper Pavilion & IE Tower

Get ready for a rare opportunity to explore the most impressive architectural spaces across the Spanish capital, many of which are often closed to the public. We are excited to be taking part in this upcoming edition, offering visitors special visits to our newly completed IE Tower, designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects and Serrano Suñer Arquitectura, as well as the IE Paper Pavilion, designed by Shigeru Ban in 2013. We look forward to opening our doors to you.

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