UIC Barcelona School of Architecture held its 2025 Vertical Workshop from 2–5 September under the title “Wind Turbine Architecture”. Over four days of intense teamwork, nearly 200 architecture students in their second to fifth years designed and built 1:1 scale prototypes of street furniture designed to reuse decommissioned wind turbine blades.

The students developed proposals focusing on the circular economy, public space and wellbeing, presenting architectural solutions that integrate functionality, sustainability and design. This year’s Vertical Workshop was directed by architects and doctors Víctor Echarri and Ricardo Gómez Val.

“The students take on a complex challenge and learn to work with unconventional materials and tight deadlines,” Echarri explained. “In this edition, the aesthetic language of the proposals was also key, because an essential part of the architect’s responsibility is to create beauty in public space. Students must learn to design with sensitivity and formal quality.”

“The Vertical Workshop is an intense and creative immersion that opens the academic year with a collective challenge. It brings together students from different years to work towards a shared goal, in a real-world context and with a strong social and environmental responsibility component,” added Gómez Val.

The activity concluded with a public exhibition on the Barcelona campus and a panel session featuring artist César Barrio and architect Dr Pascual Sala. Throughout the week, other renowned architects such as Dr Carlos Rizo were also present. 

“Blade Line”: the winning project

The winning proposal was “Blade Line”, a project addressing two pressing issues: the accumulation of waste from the wind energy industry and the rise in forest fires in Galicia. The proposal involves repurposing blades as hybrid infrastructure that functions both as a firebreak and as an emergency shelter in high-risk situations. The design draws symbolic inspiration from the oak tree – a characteristic feature of the Galician landscape – and from visual artist Carlos Irijalba, whose work explores the tension between nature, technology and culture.

The Vertical Workshop is an annual academic activity organised by UIC Barcelona that marks the beginning of the year with an intensive collective exercise focused on architectural practice, innovation and sustainability. Over the course of several days, students work under conditions similar to those of a professional environment, facing real-world challenges, collaborating in teams and developing proposals with social, environmental and urban impact.