This November, the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) took part in the Smart City Expo World Congress, in Barcelona. In this framework, IAAC Director, Daniel Ibáñez, was invited to give a talk at the Sorigué Pavilion and joined the burning debate “How do we Teach the City?” in the red room of the Congress Area.
When we talk about education and cities, we normally think about how municipalities can facilitate a higher access and quality of the learning processes. But what if we looked at this topic the other way around? How could better education on how cities work and their complexity, bring future generations of students and citizens closer to understanding the true complexity of cities, their challenges, and opportunities? In an increasingly challenging future, adequately teaching the city can direct towards better prospects.
IAAC Director, Daniel Ibáñez, addressed this questions while taking part in the debate “How do we Teach the City?” together with Martha Thorne, Distinguished Professor, IE School of Architecture; Manuel Perez Romero, Chair of the Center for Sustainable Cities, IE University of Architecture and Design; and Ana Ruiz Bowen, Director of the Smart & Resilient Cities Program, Junia School of Engineering.
The New Architecture and its Intersection with Ecology at the Sorigué Pavillion
As part of the Smart City Expo activities, the business group Sorigué presented in their Expo Pavilion a conference programme that brought together leading voices to discuss new challenges, and generate new synergies to move towards a more innovative and sustainable city. In this framework, Daniel Ibáñez was invited to give a talk about the future of architecture and ecology, where he could present his latest projects and underline the extensive benefits of building with timber.
About the Smart City Expo World Congress
Held in Barcelona since 2011, the Smart City Expo World Congress is the international leading event for cities. Their mission is to empower cities and collectivise urban innovation across the globe. Through promoting social innovation and identifying collaboration opportunities, the event is dedicated to creating a better future for cities and their citizens. This edition focused on eight important themes that address the main issues facing cities: enabling technologies, energy and environment, mobility, governance, living and inclusion, economy, infrastructure and buildings, safety and security.
In the framework of the Smart City Expo, IAAC has also been part of Tomorrow.Building, a dedicated initiative shining a spotlight on the topics of infrastructure and construction, where the Advanced Architecture Group presented the 3D printed Vertical Food Farm prototype. Read more here.