Lorena del Río

Lorena del Río, is the Director of the Architecture and Real State Management Department at SEGIPSA and co- founder of RICA* STUDIO, based in New York and Madrid, an architectural practice and a platform for design investigation operating across many scales, reflecting on the redefinition of sustainability and flexibility incorporating time in the design process and aiming to improve life condition through architecture.

Del Río’s academic research addresses an interdisciplinary approach to design where architecture, art and material research meet to investigate architecture’s psychological affect and its capacity to promote emotional well-being. Her work addresses sustainability in a holistic way, searching for architectures that promote rersponsable habits, felxible uses capable to adapt to changes through time, energy efficiency based on passive strategies, and the responsable use of materials and technology.

Del Río is an architect educated at Polytechnic University of Madrid, ETSAM (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid), where she graduated in 2008 and where she is also developing her PhD.

Her profesional work has been recognized with several awards in international competitions; recently in the competition to design new sport facilities at Dalseong, Korea, Europan 11 San Bartolome, Spain, Europan 12 Kagran, Vienna and the competition to design a Primary School, Elementary School And Leisure Center in Pleyel, Paris. She has been part of the design team of the awarded Spanish Pavilion for the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale. Her work has been widely published in international journals such as GA, Bauwelt, Arquitectura Viva, Detail and AIT Magazine.

Del Río is currently Assistant Professor at the Irwin S Chanin School of Architecture at the Cooper Union in New York. She has previosly taught at Cornell University as a Visiting Assistant Professor for four years and California College of the Arts where she also was the co-director of the BuildLab.