Half of the practice headed off to Madrid this year to look at recent housing and urban developments, and also learn about Madrid’s irregular urban evolution as a capital city. Thank you to our guide Angela Müller of MADRIDES who talked us through urban developments by drawing a very large map at key locations - a great way to illustrate hundreds of years of physical change. Angela also organised visits to a wide range of urban and building typologies as diverse as Social Housing from the 17th to the 21st century, art centre and museum extensions, iconic hotels, urban interventions to high-rise office buildings.

An intense trip full of history and variety, tradition and change with some time for social events such as coffee break at the Gran Via “Schweppes Building” roof top, a “Tapas” dinner at the “Bodega de los Secretos” (oldest wine cellar in Madrid dated in the mid-17th century) and a nice rest at the iconic Hotel ME (Former Palace of the Count of Mortijo y de Teba).