The Pace of Change: Reality, Utopia and Innovation in Contemporary Cities

Cities are arguably one of the most complex human inventions, with unmatched impact on our everyday lives. Since the first settlements to the most contemporary metropoles, urban form has widely represented our identity and our way of life. This lecture, THE PACE OF CHANGE, is a reflection about how design’s strategic thinking can bring together reality and utopia, in the form of feasible urban innovation. This reflection is key to adequately channel the potential of a time like ours, when the world is transforming faster than ever before, and when the digital evolution is starting to deeply impact how we use physical space.

Jerónimo van Schendel is a Spanish-Colombian Architect, graduated from ETSAM in 2011 and Master in Architecture (M.Arch II) with Distinction, from Harvard University Graduate School of Design since 2016. He has worked with some of the most renowned architects in Spain, such as Cruz y Ortiz, Rafael Moneo or AS+, and is an IDEO SF CoLab Fellow 2016 (Iot & Blockchain Innovation Lab). Jerónimo currently serves as Office Manager at Abalos+Sentkiewicz AS+, with several projects in Spain, China and Latin América. His independent work is focused on identifying scalable entrepreneurship opportunities in the intersection of design, AEC, and technology, mainly through platform business models. Jeronimo is the Academic Director of the Master in Business for Architecture and Design (MBArch)