Dr Carmen Fiol-Costa from Barcelona has been selected as the inaugural Australian Institute of Architects’ Droga Architect in Residence, and arrives in Sydney in March to take up her three-month residency.
The residency program is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and aims to encourage the exploration of new approaches, exchange of ideas, international collaboration and cross fertilisation.
Dr Fiol-Costa is the co-founder of Arriola & Fiol Arquitectes in Barcelona, and an architect, urban designer and landscape architect renowned for highlighting the importance of the public realm within the scope of her architectural projects.
With a focus on urban regeneration, Fiol-Costa’s body of built works ranges from large-scale urban developments and housing projects to the successful production of a series of urban furniture and lighting fixtures.
From March to June, Dr Fiol-Costa will work in collaboration with the University of Sydney, the Office of the NSW Government Architect, the AIA and local government to develop case studies for enhancing urban spaces through architecture.
She will also participate in a program of public and private events and activities that engage students, architects, design enthusiasts and the wider community.
This includes presenting lectures and seminars for a number of programs, such as the Bruny Island Utzon Series with the University of Tasmania, the Thursday Night Lecture Series in conjunction with the University of Sydney, and the lecture series at the University of Canberra.
Dr Fiol-Costa will stay at the award-winning Droga Apartment in Surry Hills, which was gifted for use as an architect residency by cultural philanthropist Daniel Droga.
Drogba Apartment Sydney. Image: Michael Wee. Source: wp.architecture.com.au/residence
