Below you can find a selection of news related to traditional building, architecture and urban planning:
– Traditional Building Cultures Foundation –
Presentation of the 2025 Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition and Building Arts Awards, and opening of the exhibition “Matter. Know-how. Place.”
The Segovia campus of IE University hosted the 2025 award ceremony for the Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition and the Building Arts Awards. These prizes respectively recognise the leading master craftspeople in the building trades in Spain and the architectural teams awarded for their proposals in each of the three municipalities selected in the competition.
Both initiatives are promoted by the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with INTBAU Spain and the Spanish Council of Architects. The event was organised in partnership with the IE School of Architecture and Design, which hosted the ceremony.
As part of the celebrations, the exhibition “Matter. Know-how. Place.” was also inaugurated. It will remain open to visitors until 11 October at the IE Creativity Center, located in the Royal Mint of Segovia. The exhibition explores the active role and potential of traditional building crafts in both the teaching and practice of contemporary architecture.
Winners of the 2025 Building Arts Awards
For the ninth consecutive year, the Building Arts Awards—endowed with €40,000—have been granted to four outstanding master artisans. The award ceremony took place at the Segovia campus of IE University. These awards are organised by the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation, with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and in collaboration with INTBAU Spain and the Spanish Council of Architects (CSCAE).
This year’s awards have been granted to Feliu Martín Farré, master stonemason from La Floresta (Lleida); Miguel Ángel Tapia, master woodcarver and sculptor from Valladolid; Manuel Monteserín, master thatcher specialising in green roofs in the Bierzo region; and Juan José Gómez Delgado, master blacksmith based in Lebrija (Seville).
Winners of the Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition
In this edition, the three selected sites were: Baltanás (Palencia), Irurita (Baztán Valley, Navarre), and La Fresneda (Teruel). Architects of various nationalities submitted architectural and urban design proposals for these locations.
The jury awarded the first prize, endowed with €12,000, to the proposal Identidad Estereotómica, submitted for Baltanás by Carlos Vallecillos Moya, Javier Navarro Mateos, and Guillermo Soria Alonso. Two honourable mentions, each with an award of €2,000, were also granted. These went to the projects Al Cotarro, by Ramón Andrada González-Parrado and Alfonso Zavala Cendra, and Los Corros del Cerrato, by the Franco-Spanish studio Patio b, formed by Blanca Aguilar and Benoît Souli.
In the case of Irurita, the first prize (€12,000) was awarded to the proposal Ni Arrai!, developed by the team of Javier Manén, Enric Mas, and Tomás Masó. Two honourable mentions — each endowed with €2,000 — were also granted: one to ¿Preparado para jugar?, by Ramón Preciado Jiménez and Miriam Larumbe Vinuesa, and another to Ventana abierta, by the team of Luis Felipe Pérez Villanueva, María del Carmen Crespo Pérez, and Laura de la Mata Morales.
In the case of La Fresneda, the first prize, also endowed with €12,000, was awarded to the project La Fresneda: Restoration of the Hillside, developed by Polish architects Oskar Alaburda, Oskar Pawłowski, and their collaborator Mateusz Chołuj. Two honourable mentions, each with an award of €2,000, were also granted: one to Fraxinus Excelsior, by Víctor Guimerá Millán and María del Pilar Rama Lara, and another to The Town on the Hill, by Nefeli Eforakopoulou and Michael Cradock.
Sixth International Conference on Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism
The new edition of the International Conference on Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism will take place in-person in Écija from 14 to 16 November. The in-person program will include debates, lectures by international architects, and demonstrations led by master artisans of traditional building crafts. Presentations will address the various topics proposed within the framework of the conference.
The conference will also be available online, as all sessions will be live-streamed, recorded, and later published on the website in the weeks following the event. The in-person program will be complemented by a series of pre-recorded lectures, based on the articles, essays, and built work featured in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism, which will be published to coincide with the conference dates.
All researchers, academics, and professionals involved in traditional building, architecture, and urbanism who work in —or have an interest in— the topics proposed for this conference are invited to submit their proposals for participation. The deadline for submission of proposals is 8 September 2025.
This conference is organized by the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation thanks to Richard H. Driehaus and in collaboration with INTBAU Spain, INTBAU Portugal, the Fundação Serra Henriques, the Écija City Council and the Royal Academy of Sciences, Fine Arts and Humanities “Luis Vélez de Guevara”
– News –
Léon Krier has passed away
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Léon Krier, who was for many years a friend and collaborator of the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation and INTBAU Spain, a member of the jury for the Rafael Manzano Prize and the Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition, and a great support for all the projects we have carried out.
Registration now open for the 2025 INTBAU World Congress
The 5th INTBAU World Congress will take place in London from 22 to 24 October 2025, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the international network. The event will bring together professionals, researchers, and other figures from around the world in a programme designed to reflect on the past, present, and future of tradition in the built environment.
Tickets are now available. The call for proposals to participate in the event remains open until 29 June.
Call for entries ppen for the 2025 National Craft Awards
The submission period for the 18th edition of the Spanish National Craft Awards is now open and will remain so until 7 July 2025.
Winners of the international freehand drawing competition “The Traditional House”
La Table Ronde de l’Architecture has announced the results of its online competition. Several participants from around the world have been awarded or shortlisted.
The drawings will be exhibited soon in Bruges and other cities, and will become part of the association’s archive. The theme for the next edition will be announced on 15 July 2025 via their Instagram account.
The online exhibition of the selected works is available on the association’s website.
2025 European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards announced
The European Commission and Europa Nostra have today announced the winners of the 2025 European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme. This year, the awards have recognised 30 outstanding achievements from 24 countries across the continent.
Among the 2025 laureates are three major initiatives from Spain:
– The restoration of the Puerta de Alcalá
– IS-LE: Islamic Legacy
– Casa Batlló
Opposition grows to the new plan for Brandevoort in Helmond
A petition on Change.org is calling for the cancellation of the new urban plan for Brandevoort, in Helmond (Netherlands), which breaks away from Rob Krier’s original design. Internationally recognised as a model of sustainable and high-quality urbanism, the neighbourhood risks losing its architectural coherence if the proposed redesign moves forward. Petitioners are demanding the reactivation of the 2006 masterplan and the preservation of the urban legacy of one of the most emblematic developments of European New Urbanism.
– Education –
Hands-on course on traditional lime techniques
From 2 to 4 July 2025, the Monastery of La Armedilla (Cogeces del Monte, Valladolid) will host an intensive course on the traditional use of lime, led by master mason Jesús Adeva, recipient of the 2022 Richard H. Driehaus Building Arts Award.
The course is organised by the Friends of La Armedilla Monastery Association, in collaboration with the Morón Lime Museum, the Cogeces del Monte Town Council, and the ITARQ team. Accommodation is included, and discounted rates are available for members, along with a scholarship option.
Timbrel vault construction workshop
From 14 to 18 July 2025, a new edition of the timbrel vault construction workshop will take place in Bétera (Valencia), organised by CERCAA. The course will combine traditional techniques with the use of augmented reality tools for the design and construction of vaults.
Mexico and Spain: Five Centuries of Architecture for a Shared History
From 28 to 30 October 2026, Seville will host the 24th Forum on the History and Criticism of Modern Architecture, held jointly with the 5th International Congress of the Association of Historians of Architecture and Urbanism (AhAU). Under the theme Mexico and Spain: Five Centuries of Architecture for a Shared History, the event will bring together researchers and professionals to explore the architectural ties between both countries across five centuries of shared history.
The deadline for the submission of proposals is 30 September 2025.
All communication with the organisers, including submission of abstracts and papers, should be made via email: congreso.mexicoespana@ahau.es
Introductory workshop on the pargetting technique
From 10 to 17 August 2025, the Școala de la Bunești (Romania) will host an introductory workshop on pargetting, led by master artisan James Collier.
The course will provide intensive training in this traditional decorative plaster technique. It is organised by INTBAU Romania with the support of the Order of Architects of Romania, The King’s Foundation, and other institutions committed to the preservation of traditional building cultures.
Traditional carpentry workshop
From 22 to 26 September 2025, a workshop on the design and drawing of timber structures will take place in Everbeek (Belgium). Organised by La Table Ronde de l’Architecture and INTBAU Belgium, the course will be led by master carpenter Dirk Mortier.
Registration is open until 15 August.
