Romina Canna

Over the last eight years, the course of “Alternative Practices: The City” and the d-Lab –Design Laboratory- in the Bachelor in Architecture have been vehicles to test the reach of academic production. This demonstrates a move from its more conventional role as a tool for learning towards a field engagement experience more inquisitive of reality and its many and diverse agents, and therefore, more engaged with our community. Somehow away from the radar of cities that attract attention as a focus of discussion, Segovia, a small town of 53.000 inhabitants, struggles with depopulation and resources for tackling many challenges. With a group of students eager to think and imagine a different present, we have worked with the City Hall to think about and to develop projects that emerge from the need to strengthen community links, re-think patrimony, and highlight the potentials of a small town. We believe in a notion of sustainability whose foundations are not about big statements but rather about creating a strong, thriving community that smartly uses and values its resources.