The UIC Barcelona School of Architecture has opened the Foros 2026 lecture series with an opening session dedicated to international architecture, held in the University’s Aula Magna.  The event featured contributions from architects working in international practices who shared their professional journeys and experience: Borja Ferrater, architect and CEO of ELIA Architecture and Anton Larsen, architect at MASS Design Group.

The series is conceived as a space for dialogue between students and professionals, encouraging reflection on the different ways architecture is practised today. The programme is led by Borja Ferrater and David Abondano, both architects and lecturers at UIC Barcelona. The opening session was chaired by Maria I. Gabarró, architect and director of the Master’s Degree in Architecture & Design Business Management at UIC Barcelona. 

Throughout the event, speakers presented a range of examples of architectural practice in international settings, highlighting how the profession now operates in diverse contexts shaped by mobility, intercultural collaboration and adaptation to specific social and cultural realities.

“Foros 2026 brings the professional world closer to students. It helps bridge the gap between the academic stage and professional practice, which many students do not experience first-hand,” said Borja Ferrater. In his talk, he emphasised the importance of students “approaching their careers with flexibility and openness to opportunity”. According to Ferrater, the aim of these sessions is precisely to broaden perspectives, reveal multiple career pathways and help students better understand how their professional futures may develop.

Speakers agreed on the importance of understanding architecture as a practice grounded in principles and designed to respond precisely to each context. Concepts such as purpose-driven design, local culture and patterns of use recurred throughout the session.

ELIA Architecture

ELIA Architecture is a Barcelona-based studio with a strong international outlook, currently in the process of opening offices in Madrid and Santiago de Chile. It has a team of more than 50 professionals representing 29 nationalities and develops projects in multiple countries, ranging from infrastructure to commercial and residential architecture. Its clients include NGOs as well as resorts and luxury hotels. During the session, Borja Ferrater (Alumni 2005) described how the studio has developed over time and explained the principles and working methods that guide its work.

“It is essential to establish a methodology and develop a strong work culture,” Ferrater explained, identifying these as key factors in the success of an architectural practice. Among the guiding principles of ELIA Architecture, he noted, “We do not see style as a starting point. What matters is working from principles and ideas that guide each project and applying the intellectual rigour required to address a project, regardless of its scale.”

MASS Design Group

MASS Design Group is an architecture practice headquartered in Rwanda, with offices in Boston, New York and Mexico. It operates through a socially driven, impact-oriented approach that combines design, research and construction to address complex challenges in a range of contexts, particularly in health, education and community development. 

Anton Larsen (Alumni 2012) explained that the practice operates under a hybrid funding model, with approximately 60 per cent of its projects supported through philanthropy. This approach enables the development of initiatives that would be unlikely to materialise under conventional market conditions. 

“At MASS Design Group, we focus less on what we build and more on who each project serves and why,” Larsen explained. “Our approach is based on an architectural model oriented towards serving society, with a practice that is partly structured as a non-profit organisation. We work with multidisciplinary teams and focus on three key areas, particularly in Africa: maternal and neonatal health; creating opportunities and supporting community development; and environmental conservation.”

The session highlighted how contemporary architectural practice no longer follows a single model, but develops along diverse paths, where adaptability, teamwork in multicultural environments and alignment with core principles are essential.

With this opening event, UIC Barcelona launches a new edition of Foros, a lecture series that will continue throughout April with sessions dedicated to digital entrepreneurship, collaborative methods and local architecture, consolidating its role as a forum for reflection on the present and future of the architectural profession.

Upcoming sessions

15 April: Digital entrepreneurs

• Bigshots: Javier Solans (Alumni 2021)

• Additive Spaces: Jesus Subirana (Alumni 2014)

This session addresses new professional opportunities linked to technology, architectural visualisation, computational design and digital entrepreneurship.

22 April: Collaborative methods

• Arquitectura-G: Jordi Ayala (Alumni 2009)

•  Addenda Architects: Jose Zabala (Alumni 2004)

This session examines professional models developed in studios founded by alums, versus career paths based on flexible and dynamic collaborations.

29 April: Local architecture

• BxD Arquitectura: Francesc Buixeda (Alumni 2006)

• Agora Arquitectura: Joan Casals (Alumni 2005) and Jose Luis Cisneros (Alumni 2005)

This session explores the consolidation of architecture studios in Spain through public competitions, collective housing and architecture rooted in the local territory.