29 June 2026, Program 16:00 – 20:30
Aula, Design Hub, Barcelona
Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, 38, c
Sant Martí, Barcelona
Public Debate
THE FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM
What Future for Architecture?
Recent decades have seen the highest levels and fastest rates of construction development across the world. Yet, the largest part of this record quantity of con- struction is not designed by architects and most of what has been built is of a poor quality and will thus have a short life expectancy. In fact, the global production of the environment mirrors the increasing social inequalities in being neither sustainable nor appropriate.
How could practitioners and critics have a greater impact on meeting the social and environmental challenges?
Is the profession prepared for the changes that AI will bring to the design and construction processes?
Which qualities should future architectures embody?
Debate will be held in English.
Entrance is free, please pre-register for free on Eventbrite.
Free Zoom Link / Meeting ID: 878 5669 4120 / Passcode: 801471
PROGRAM
16:00 Introduction: The Future of Architecture and Architectural Criticism
Louise Noelle Gras, Chair of the Board of CICA Directors, Mexico
Li Xiangning, CICA Director
Yasmin Shariff, CICA Director
Sara Topelson, CICA Member
16:30 Public Debate: The Future of Architecture
Moderators: Josep Lluís Mateo, Barcelona and Wilfried Wang, Berlin/Shanghai
Statements from Discussants:
Lluís Ortega, Barcelona
José Juan Barba, Madrid
Maria Goula, Cornell/Barcelona
Nuria Arredondo Vergara, ETSAB, Barcelona
Martina Basualdo, UPC, Barcelona
Arnau Pascual Carreras, MArch ETSAB, Barcelona
Júlia Santín i Miracle, UPC, Barcelona
Peng Rui, Tongji University, Shanghai / UPC, Barcelona
Ana Tostões, CICA Director, Lisbon
17:30 Questions and Answers, Debate
18:30 Concluding Statements
19:00 Announcement of CICA Publication Awards 2026 and Introduction to the Dennis Sharp Library Acquisition, Prof. Keren He
19:30 Reception on the Terrace
20:30 End
Curriculum Vitæ of Participants
Nuria Arredondo Vergara
Architect and PhD researcher at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. With a specialization in architectural design, her research focuses on understanding, through drawing, what defines an architectural project and how it evolves over time within collective, intergenerational and abstract design processes, taking the case of Ciudad Abierta de Amereida and its experimental architecture, where she undertook a research residency in 2025. She previously worked as an architect at Lagula Arquitectes. Her academic experience includes teaching at ETSAB, Georgia-Tech and serving as a visiting lecturer at UIR-ESAR. She has also worked as an intern at the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.
José Juan Barba
José Juan Barba (1964) is a Spanish architect, critic, and academic. Architect from the Madrid School of Architecture (ETSAM, 1991) and PhD in Architecture summa cum laude (2004), he founded his Madrid- based practice in 1992 and has directed the award-winning bilingual architecture journal METALOCUS since 1998. Associate Professor at the University of Alcalá, he has lectured internationally and participated in major architectural forums, juries, and exhibitions, including the Biennale di Venezia 2016. His work in architecture, urbanism, and landscape intervention has received numerous awards and has been widely published internationally. He is also the author of several books on architecture and urban culture.
Martina Basualdo
After graduating from the University of Buenos Aires, I spent two years in professional practice, gaining a deep projective understanding of architecture. Driven by the intuition that the discipline was evolving, I joined the MADE Master at UPC under Lluis Ortega Cerdà. This program explores architecture as a complex relationship of systems, utilizing digital tools to achieve a new level of design rigour. Combining my teaching experience at UBA (ARM.ar) with research at the ETSAV Model Lab, I am focused on how contemporary methodologies transform our ability to manage, design, and materialize architectural projects in the digital age.
Arnau Pascual Carreras
Architect, trained at ETSAB, with studies at ETH Zürich. He holds an MBArch in Theory, History and Culture, focused on Thomas Demand. He teaches theory at ETSAB-UPC and critical discourses at ETSALS-URL, and as a visiting professor in Georgia Tech’s Barcelona program. He is co-founder of pensi pascual and has collaborated with offices as Pool Architekten, Flores & Prats, and Mateoarquitectura. He has worked as an editor at TRANSFER and edited Footprints: Writings 2005–2020 by Josep Lluís Mateo. He has published articles in journals including Pasarela and Quaderns, and co-founded the architecture collective agency post like.
Maria Goula
Maria Goula is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University. She worked for over 20 years in Barcelona as a practitioner and educator and served as co-director of the Center for Landscape Research as well as Head of the MLA program, ETSAB, UPC (2008–2014). She is a Fellow of the Atkinson Center for Sustainable Futures, Cornell University and a member of the Board of the Landscape Architecture Foundation Europe. Through research, teaching, and collaborative design, she engages with overlooked, abandoned, semi-arid, or wet landscapes, advancing ways in which their neglected dynamics and potential can support landscape-led urban design and architectural practices.
Li Xiangning
Vice President of Tongji University, a full professor in architectural history, theory, and criticism, former dean of Tongji University CAUP, and editor-in-chief of Architecture China and Perspectives in Architecture and Urbanism. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of CICA and author of numerous essays on contemporary Chinese architecture and urbanism. He has served as a visiting scholar and professor at various institutions, such as MIT and Harvard GSD, and has curated numerous exhibitions, including the China Pavilion at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale; Towards a Critical Pragmatism: Contemporary Architecture in China at Harvard GSD; and Shanghai Urban Space Art Season 2015, 2017, 2023, and 2025.
Josep Lluís Mateo
Architect, ETSAB (Barcelona School of Architecture). PhD (Cum Laude) from the UPC (Polytechnic University of Catalonia). Professor Emeritus, Doctor of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). He taught and lectured at major academic institutions worldwide, including the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles (Scholar), Berlin Sommer Akademie, and Harvard Graduate School (Guest Professor). In 1991, he founded mateoarquitectura, a practice that has developed a wide range of projects (office buildings, urban planning, public spaces, housing), always with a strong international focus. His work lies at the intersection between conceptual thinking and built reality, combining technical rigor with ongoing intellectual and programmatic inquiry. Among his most significant projects in Spain are: the Toni Catany International Photography Center in Mallorca, the Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB), the Filmoteca de Catalunya, the renovation and extension of the Mercat del Ninot in Barcelona, and the paving of the historic center of Ullastret. International projects include: headquarters for PGGM Company in Zeist, Netherlands; La Factory office building in Boulogne- Billancourt; ESMA School in Montpellier; the Castelo Branco Cultural Center in Portugal; and the Entrance Hall of the Prague National Gallery in the Czech Republic. His work has been widely published and exhibited globally and has received numerous awards and honors. Some of the most recent awards are: 100 Architects of the Year 2024 from the Korean Institute of Architects (KIA):J uanzong Archive Award 2022 (China): “Author of the Year,” following the publication of the book Footprints. Josep Lluís Mateo. Writings 2005-2020; +100 best architecture firms 2019, DOMUS Magazine: mateoarquitectura is chosen as one of the 100 best architecture firms in the world in 2019; V NAN Architecture and Construction Award 2011: First prize for the best Spanish project abroad. Arquitectura Plus (APlus) Award 2011: Award for the most outstanding career.
Louise Noelle Gras
Professor and Researcher at the Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Involved in many aspects of architectural history and criticism, being a co-founder and director of the Comité International des Critiques d’Architecture (CICA). Active in the field of the protection of the 20th Century architectural heritage as member of DOCOMOMO and ICOMOS. Member of the Academia de Artes. Jean Tschumi Prize of the International Union of Architects, 2011, and Medal of the National Institute of Fine Arts of México, 2025. Author of various books on Mexican and Latin American 20th Century Architecture. Since 2020, in charge of the Central Campus of the National University, a World Heritage Site, UNESCO.
Lluís Ortega
Received his Ph.D. Architect from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), MA in Philosophy from the Universitat de Barcelona, and obtained his Master of Science degree (AAD) from Columbia University. Co-founder and principal at JL-Office, at present he is Associate Professor of Architectural Design at UPC, where he directs MADE. Previously taught at IIT and UIC (Chicago), at the Universidad Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires, Universidad de Alicante, GSD Harvard University, Cambridge, and at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna. Editor of the magazine Quaderns d’Arquitectura i Urbanisme (2003-2005) he currently serves as secretary for the European Prize for Urban Public Space at the CCCB.
Rui Peng
Master’s student in Architecture at Tongji University and is currently studying in the MBArch Contemporary Project programme at UPC/ETSAB in Barcelona through the Tongji–UPC dual-degree programme. Her academic interests focus on architectural history and theory, architectural curating, urban public space, and the cultural role of events in contemporary cities. Her current research explores LLUM BCN as an urban light festival, focusing on how temporary installations, curatorial strategies, and spatial experience shape public perception of the city. She has participated in curatorial and exhibition-related projects in Shanghai, including Building Shanghai: Architecture, Urbanism, and Culture since 1949.
Júlia Santín i Miracle
Creative architect with a strong interest in ephemeral and temporary architecture, material experimentation, sustainability and digital tools. Developed a line of research to a conceptual approach to integrating artificial intelligence into architectural design in the final degree project that is currently being pursued in the double master’s degree MArch + MADe at ETSAV. The master’s thesis focuses on temporary architecture, exploring adaptive, flexible and time-based spatial strategies.
During the exchange studies at ETH Zurich, Júlia Santín worked with Alexander Theriot, researching bioplastics and emerging materialities, expanding her interest in innovative and sustainable construction systems. Júlia Santín is currently based at ETSAV, finalizing her studies while developing an international and forward-thinking approach to architectural design.
Yasmin Shariff
Award-winning British Kenyan architect, developer, and academic. She is Director of CICA and has held senior leadership roles within the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), including Chair of RIBA East and Honorary Secretary. She was a trustee and Honorary Secretary of the Architectural Association and Senior Lecturer at the University of Westminster. Yasmin’s work engages critically with architecture’s role in addressing climate change and social justice, combining practice, research, and policy. She contributes regularly to international conferences, journals, and design panels, including the World Architecture Festival, Civic Trust, and Innovate UK. Publications and presentations include “Architecture as Built Criticism: A Planetary Perspective” (Tongji University 2023), “Eco People Design: Nothing WORKS” ( UIA 2023), “Minnette De Silva @ the AA 1945–48” (Princeton University 2021), and “Modern Movement Houses in the Colonial Capital City of Nairobi” (Docomomo 2021).
Sara Topelson
Architect, UNAM (1973). Co-founder of Grinberg + Topelson Arquitectos with José Grinberg, with extensive work in urban design, housing, and cultural, educational, and commercial projects. Her work has received multiple awards, including the National Housing Award (2021), National Architecture Award (2021)—as its first female recipient—the Lorenzo H. Zambrano Lifetime Achievement Award (2022), and the Fine Arts Medal in Architecture (2024). She was Professor at Universidad Anáhuac (1972–2000) and President of the International Union of Architects (1996–1999), becoming its first woman president. She served as Director of Architecture at INBAL and Undersecretary of Urban Development MEXICO. At CIDOC, she led the study “Current State of Housing in Mexico” for 18 years. Recent work includes the Mexiquense Anáhuac 1200 seat Auditorium.
Ana Tostões
Architect, critic and architectural historian. Professor at IST-University of Lisbon, she is leader of the Heritage Lab at CiTUA. Invited professor at University of Tokyo, Escuela Técnica Superior Arquitectura Universidad Navarra, Politécnico de Milano, École Spécial d’Architecture and Faculdade Arquitetura Universidade Porto. President of Docomomo International and editor-in-chief of the Docomomo Journal from 2010 to 2021, she is chair of the ISC Publications. She has edited Key Papers in Modern Architectural Heritage Conservation (with Liu Kecheng, 2014), Modern Heritage. Reuse, Renovation, Restoration (Birkhäuser, 2022), The Critical Monumentality of Álvaro Siza (2023), Modernist Women Creators (2024) and Modernism in Africa (Docomomo- Birkhaüser 2024). President of Docomomo_PT, Member of l’Académie d’Architecture in Paris, Member of Science Academy of Lisbon and the Fine Arts National Academy, she was awarded the Académie d’Architecture Prix de la Critque et des Publications (2024), the X Bienal Ibero-Americana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (2026), the Gulbenkian APH Prize (2014) and she is Commander of Infante Dom Henrique Order (2006).
Wilfried Wang
Born in Hamburg; studied architecture at the Bartlett, UCL. With Barbara Hoidn, founded Hoidn Wang Partner in Berlin (2000–2026). Taught at the Polytechnic of North London; Bartlett, UCL; ETH Zürich; Harvard GSD; UT Austin; ETSAUN Pamplona; Tongji University, CAUP, Changjiang Distinguished Scholar. President of CICA. Author and editor of architectural publications. Director of the German Architecture Museum (1995–2000). Foreign member of Konstakademien, Stockholm; member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin; Dr. h.c. from Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Stockholm; honorary member of the Ordem dos Arquitectos, Portugal; Austrian Honorary Cross for Science and Art, First Class.