The MURAD students, under the direction of Professor Rafael de Balanzo, collaborated with the SITESIZE artist collective (Elvira Pujol and Joan Vila Puig) as part of the Resilience Thinking Design Initiatives seminar, included in Module 5 of research and design.
These activities aimed primarily to strengthen students' critical and creative capacity in addressing current socioecological challenges, focusing on the Després del Vendaval exhibition at the Santa Mònica Center in Barcelona, particularly on the HIDROcustody Territorial installation by SITESIZE, as well as linking the students' research with the preparation of Eina's participation as a gateway and public sphere for Collserola, in the context of Barcelona's designation as the World Capital of Architecture in 2026.
During these sessions, the HIDROcustody Territorial and Resilience Thinking Workshop was developed, offering a holistic perspective that integrates symbolic references associated with water, territory, and the communities inhabiting it. This approach aims to understand the natural legacy of rivers and forests from a perspective of effective custodianship and safeguarding as common goods, promoting collective sovereignty and connection to the Earth.
Students delved into these concepts through the Resilient Thinking Workshop, working in teams to address the vulnerabilities of their local rivers. Throughout the workshop, speculative scenarios were developed using resilient thinking tools. The resulting ideas and proposals were synthesized into collaborative documents that include diagrams, mind maps, and reflections.
As the final part of the process, students conducted a conceptual group walkscape, exploring key points in Collserola Park around EINA related to collective resilience. Through this activity, based on the adaptive cycle of resilient thinking, students posed the speculative question: What if...?. This exercise promoted reflection and creativity, connecting the concepts explored with the socioecological realities of Collserola's rivers and forests, thereby strengthening their ability to imagine and implement sustainable solutions in real-world contexts.