Below you can find a selection of news related to traditional building, architecture and urban planning:
– Traditional Building Cultures Foundation –
The Traditional Building Cultures Foundation announces three training grants in building trades
The Traditional Building Cultures Foundation announces three training grants in traditional building crafts, aimed at the practical training of apprentices alongside three highly regarded master craftspeople.
These grants form part of the Building Arts Grants Programme, whose objective is to support the transmission of traditional crafts, encourage generational renewal, and promote excellence in craftsmanship linked to the conservation of the built heritage:
– Donald Gray Building Arts Grant: Training with master thatcher Manuel Monteserín
– Fuentes Dutor Foundation Training Grant: Training with the master stonemasons of Cantería Jaurrieta
– Gondra Barandiarán Foundation Training Grant: Training with master stained-glass artist Mikel Delika
– News –
Terrachidia receives the Ammodo Architecture Award 2025 in the Local Scale category
Terrachidia has been awarded the Ammodo Architecture Award 2025 in the Local Scale category for its Terrachidia Oasis Campus project, located in M’Hamid El Ghizlane, in southern Morocco.
The jury highlighted the project’s ability to integrate architectural restoration, preservation training, and the transmission of traditional building knowledge. The initiative brings together heritage experts with local craftspeople and stakeholders, strengthening the social fabric of the oasis. The award recognises the value of a model that links cultural preservation, technical expertise, and community development in a territory exposed to desertification and depopulation.
“The EU opens a new chapter for craftsmanship: Geographical Indications extended to non-agri-food products”
The European Union has opened a new chapter for craftsmanship with the entry into force, on 1 December 2025, of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411, which extends Geographical Indication protection to non-agri-food products. For the first time, artisanal and industrial products whose quality or reputation is linked to a specific territory may obtain EU-wide legal recognition, previously reserved almost exclusively for the agri-food sector.
This measure strengthens protection against imitations, acknowledges the cultural and territorial value of traditional crafts, and provides a common framework to support their economic development and heritage recognition across the European Union.
Publication of “Disfunctional Functionalism. Ideology, Architecture and Crisis, 1945–1980”
The historian and teacher at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid School of Architecture, David Rivera, has published a new essay that examines the internal tensions of functionalist doctrine in architecture between 1945 and 1980, one of the most contested periods of modern architectural thought.
“Disfunctional Functionalism” traces the ideological fractures among architects during a period shaped by the dominance and subsequent questioning of functionalism, from the dissolution of CIAM to the early emergence of postmodernity.
TERRA 2026 photographic exhibition
The international call for entries for the TERRA 2026 photographic exhibition is now open. The exhibition is organised by ISCEAH on the occasion of the 14th World Congress on Earthen Architecture, to be held in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from 13 to 16 April 2026.
The exhibition aims to highlight the diversity of earthen architectural heritage through images of buildings, construction techniques, cultural landscapes, and community practices.
Each participant may submit one to three high-resolution photographs, accompanied by a short description.
The submission deadline is 24 February 2026. Selection will take place via the form available on the organisation’s website.
– Education –
INTBAU Mexico Summer School
From 29 May to 13 June 2026, the INTBAU Mexico Summer School of Traditional Architecture and Urbanism will take place in the historic centre of Mexico City. The programme offers two intensive weeks of training in traditional architecture and urbanism, with the participation of national and international specialists.
“The Renaissance Villa and Garden” Summer School
From 9 to 23 May 2026, Villa Falconieri, located within the historic landscape of the Tusculan Villas, will host an international summer school dedicated to classical architecture, with a focus on the Renaissance villa and garden.
The programme offers an intensive experience combining training, research, and exchange, aimed at master’s students, doctoral candidates, and young professionals interested in classical architecture and built heritage. The summer school will take place in Frascati (Italy).
The application deadline is 28 February 2026.
Second edition of the Mudejar Carpentry course
From 23 to 27 March 2026, the second edition of the Mudejar Carpentry course will take place. The course is organised by the Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural de España (IPCE) and is dedicated to the theoretical and practical study of traditional techniques for the construction of timber roof structures.
During the course, participants will work on a scale model of a real roof structure, enabling the application of historical methods of geometric layout and component fabrication.
Attendance is free of charge, with prior registration required by 18 February 2026, or until available places are filled.
Artistic lime finishes workshop
From 30 April to 3 May 2026, a theoretical and practical workshop on artistic lime finishes will take place in Brunyola (Girona). The workshop will be led by Anna Castillo Vila, in collaboration with Tlaia Xilografia.
The course will focus on mortar formulation and on the use of lime in relief work, sgraffito, colour, texture, and ornamentation.
More information: anna@artisanna.es
Theoretical–practical workshop: Traditional Techniques, Interior Design and Contemporary Architecture
From 18 to 20 March, the Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico (IAPH) in Seville will host the theoretical–practical workshop Traditional Techniques, Interior Design and Contemporary Architecture, coordinated by Ingrid G. Cruz.
The programme will include contributions from Aniceto Delgado, Manuel Gil, Agustín Israel, Jacob Escobar, Manuel Arias, Miguel A. Alcalá, Miguel A. Balmaseda, and Sebastián Pérez Gómez. The workshop will explore the relationship between traditional building techniques and contemporary practices in architecture and interior design.
INTBAU Italia Summer School on Palladio’s Architecture
From 19 to 28 June 2026, INTBAU Italy will organise the international summer school The Architecture of Palladio in Vicenza and Venice.
The programme proposes drawing as a tool for analysis and historical understanding. It includes fieldwork, on-site surveys, theoretical lectures, and both hand and digital drawing practice, with accommodation in Vicenza and study visits to Venice.
Pictorial decoration workshop in Genoa
On 11, 12 and 13, and 18, 19 and 20 April 2026, a specialised workshop on pictorial decoration titled Formulation and Application of Colour in Ornament and Architecture will take place in Genoa. The workshop will be taught by master painter Fabio Prati.
More information: info@fabioprati.com
Call for papers for the IMCL Conference
The IMCL Conference (International Making Cities Livable) has entered the final phase of abstract submissions. Under the theme “Recovery and Resilience After an Age of Disruption”, the conference will address urban strategies for recovery, resilience, and regenerative development.
The call is open to researchers, students, professionals, and public-sector leaders. The IMCL Conference will take place in Riga and Jelgava, maintaining its distinctive format focused on in-depth dialogue and practical implementation.
