Why Design Matters? In Favor of Urban Public Space -Colloquium and Opening

The Spitzer School of Architecture joins the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) in celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the European Prize for Urban Public Space, a biennial competition organized by the CCCB that, since 2000, has recognized projects that create, transform, and recover public spaces understood to be clear indicators of the democratic health of cities within Europe. With a robust exhibition documenting a quarter-century of exemplary design focused on urban public space, and a robust program of public events, the Spitzer School and the CCCB insist that design matters and that dialogue about cities and public space is both possible and necessary in our increasingly urbanized and fractured world.

Thursday, September 10, 2026, 4:00 PM

Introduction: Prof. Fabian Llonch

Moderator: Prof. Julio Salcedo-Fernandez, Director, Graduate Program in Urban Design

Panelists (15-minute presentations):

Maria Buhigas, Chief Architect of the City of Barcelona

Josep Ricart, Principal, Harquitectes

Claire Weisz, Principal, WXY, New York

How can design respond to urgent challenges without reinforcing existing inequalities? What does it mean to design for resilience in a rapidly changing world? How can diverse voices shape the outcomes of design processes? What responsibilities do designers hold in shaping these futures? How might design move beyond problem-solving to become a tool for collective imagination and transformation?

In addition to Judit Carrera Escudé, Pilar Soldevila i García, CCCB Executive Director, Mario Corea Delepianne, Infrastructures and Technical Production Section, and Elisabet Goula Sardà, Head of the Debates Service, will join the opening.

Followed by:

EXHIBIT OPENING AND RECEPTION

Thursday, September 10, 2026, 6:00 PM

Welcome remarks:

Dr. Vince Boudreau, President, The City College of New York

Dr. Marta Gutman, Dean and Professor, Spitzer School of Architecture

Judit Carrera, Director, CCCB

In addition to Judit Carrera Escudé, Pilar Soldevila i García, CCCB Executive Director, Mario Corea Delepianne, Infrastructures and Technical Production Section, and Elisabet Goula Sardà, Head of the Debates Service, will join the opening.

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