Vision
Established by the architect David Chipperfield in 2017, Fundación RIA is an independent non-profit agency and thinktank working towards long-term sustainability of both the built and natural environment in the region of Galicia in north-west Spain.
Fundación RIA focuses on inter-disciplinary studies, pilot projects and strategic territorial planning, connecting global challenges to a specific context. It is rooted in close collaboration Galicia’s communities, government, industry and academic institutions, and draws together international and local expertise.
Its ambition is to develop a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute towards quality of life beyond conventional economic assessments such as GDP. Establishing links between public and private agents is central to repairing the relationship between the built and natural environments. In this regard, Galicia can set a European benchmark for sustainable development.
Taking the quality of the built environment as the focal point, the foundation seeks to consider the wider context of forces which impact the shape of the built environment as well as those impacted by the built environment.
Read more about
David Chipperfield’s vision on Galicia
Galicia serves as an ideal laboratory for understanding how the physical environment, nature, productive landscape and the built environment can, through careful planning governance, be both protected and developed in alignment with economic, social and cultural priorities.
In Galicia, the explicit presence of nature and its economic and cultural importance give us a vivid demonstration of the impact that poor planning decisions can play in the erosion of environmental quality. The conditions of living environments, villages and towns, and their relationship with the natural environment, have undergone a century of profound transformations and uncontrolled growth that led to a progressive degradation of its quality, a change of production model, and a loss of heritage and social infrastructure which are the basis of local identity and quality of life.
Many of the challenges faced by this corner of Spain are shared by communities and regions across Europe and beyond. In a globalised world facing a climate crisis, we must learn to look beyond the convention divides of rural or urban, natural or human. We can no longer work in isolation. To build a sustainable future, centered on quality of life and a circular economy, we must see that is all connected.
RIA links together strategic planning, administration and governance with the concerns of the community and the environment through inter-disciplinary studies, pilot projects and strategic territorial planning.
Over the last seven years, Fundación RIA has sought to connect the details of localised issues with territorial planning and national commitments. The work has assisted the flow of information between scales of governance to ensure that the impacts of strategies and policies are considered and understood.
RIA focuses its activity on three key areas:
Sustainable land management
Collaborative action research programmes based on the historic forms of territorial structure, community governance and management of the Galician productive landscape.
Territorial planning and local identity
Pilot projects that seek to improve the quality of living environments in order to preserve the identity and cultural and environmental values of the place.
Planning, architecture and design culture
Exemplary planning and contracting processes, based on participation and analysis, that promote a “baukunst” based on criteria of sustainability, proximity and efficiency.
Boards
The governance of Fundación RIA relies on its Board of Trustees, which is supported by an Honorary Board and an Advisory Board that contribute to decision making, the establishment of partnerships and the public projection of the foundation’s mission and activities.
Board of Trustees
David Chipperfield studied architecture at the Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. He worked for Douglas Stephen, Richard Rogers and Norman Foster before founding his own practice in 1985 and establishing a design methodology that is now used across five offices in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai and Santiago de Compostela.
David Chipperfield is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and an honorary fellow of both the American Institute of Architects and the Bund Deutscher Architekten. Among the accolades he has received are the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, awarded in 2009, and a knighthood for services to architecture in the UK and Germany, awarded in 2010. He has received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture (2011) and the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association (2013), both given in recognition of a lifetime’s work. David Chipperfield was appointed a member of the Order of the UK’s Companions of Honour in 2021, Commander of Spain’s Orden de Isabel la Católica and member of Germany’s Orden Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste in 2022 for his services to architecture internationally. In 2023 he was selected Laureate for the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
In addition to design work, David Chipperfield has taught and lectured at schools of architecture worldwide. In 2012 he curated the 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale under the title ‘Common Ground. He served as the mentor for architecture from 2016–17 for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In 2017 he founded Fundación RIA, a private, non-profit entity that works towards meaningful economic, environmental and cultural development in Galicia, Spain.
David Chipperfield has published numerous books and articles, including ‘On Planning – A Thought Experiment’ (2018), a publication that explores and theorises the urban qualities of contemporary urban developments. He was the 2020 guest editor of Italian design magazine Domus.
David Chipperfield
Architect and urban planner graduated from the University of Santiago in 1987 and PhD from UDC since 2023, he completed postgraduate studies at Columbia University in New York in 1991 and at ESAD in Porto in 1994. Since 1996 he has been a professor at the School of Architecture of the University of Coruña and since 2010 director of the international program Compostela organized by the CA institute. He joins the board of trustees of the Fundación RIA in 2019.
He has worked with international architects such as Viñoly Architects and Eisenman Architects in New York and with Álvaro Siza in Porto. He has received several architecture awards, highlighting the double prize of the XV Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism 2020 in the categories Architecture and Product, the Lledó 2018 Iberian peninsula award in the category Public Space, the FAD 2016 award for the Iberian peninsula in the category City and Landscape, as well as the Juana de Vega award in Architecture in 2010 and several architecture awards from the College of Architects of Galicia in the years 2017, 2015 and 2005.
He has been awarded in the V contest Painting Concello de Cambre 1988 and in the photography contest IV Caminos de Hierro 1989. He has published the books: Souto de Moura, Metro Porto in 2018, Siza by Siza in 2015, Museo Iberê Camargo in 2013, Compostelas Contemporáneas in 2012 and FCI, Facultad de Periodismo in 2003. He has also collaborated with several specialized magazines such as Casabella and Pasajes. His work has been exhibited in Venice at the Biennale Architettura 2016, at the International Biennial of Argentina BIAR 2016 in Buenos Aires and at the Aedes Gallery, Berlin 1992.
Carlos Seoane
Evelyn Stern
Honorary Board
Advisory Board
Team
Working within the community over the last seven years, the Fundación RIA team has developed a strong understanding of their concerns and ambitions. Alongside this, the team has established connections with local industries, administrations and planning bodies, as well as experts and academic institutions, in order to ensure a rigorous understanding of the issues impacting quality of life across Galicia.
Team
Manuel Rodríguez López holds a degree in architecture from the ETSAB (Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona) and undertook an exchange programme at LTH – Lund University, in Sweden. In 2016, he joined David Chipperfield Architects to set up a studio in Galicia, which led to the creation of Fundación RIA in 2017. As director of the foundation, Manuel is responsible for its management and representation, as well as for coordinating the team and providing technical leadership for the projects, activities and initiatives undertaken by the organisation.
Manuel Rodríguez López
Adrián Capelo Cruz is a photographer and architect, holding a degree from ETSAC (Escola Técnica Superior de Arquitectura da Coruña), with a specialisation in spatial planning and territorial management. In 2017, he joined Fundación RIA, where he began working in the fields of analysis, planning and photography. He currently focuses his work on strategic design and project management.
Adrián Capelo Cruz
Alfonso Bertran Gil holds a degree in architecture from the ETSAB (Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona) and undertook an exchange programme at the AHO (Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo) in Norway. At the foundation, Alfonso is responsible for establishing the framework and coordinating the design and documentation tasks for spatial planning and public space projects.
Alfonso Bertran Gil
Lucia Escrigas Rodríguez holds a degree in architecture from the ETSAC (Escola Técnica Superior de Arquitectura da Coruña), having undertaken exchange programmes at the Department of Architecture at the University of Coimbra and at the ETSAM in Madrid. In 2021, she joined the team of Fundación RIA, where she coordinates strategic spatial planning projects.
Lucía Escrigas Rodríguez
Claudia de Sas Trujillo holds a degree in Landscape Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and is currently doing a master’s degree in Territorial Planning and Management at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Throughout her professional career, she has worked in Galicia on landscape, spatial planning and rural development projects based on responsible land management and the optimisation of natural resources. In 2022, she joined Fundación RIA, where she develops territorial management and landscape projects, as well as communication tasks.
Claudia de Sas Trujillo
Inés Piñeiro Ozores holds a degree in architecture from the ETSAB (Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona) and has complemented her training in communication and editorial design at the Escola Massana and Elisava in Barcelona. After working in architectural communication at various studios, she joined Fundación RIA in 2023, where she is responsible for communication and graphic design.
Inés Piñeiro Ozores
Patricia Orive Agras holds a degree in Business Studies from the University of A Coruña and a degree in History from the UNED. Her interest in the third sector led her to complement her training with a master’s degree in social economy and management of Not-for-Profit Organisations at the University of Barcelona. Since 2024, she is responsible for administration and management in Fundación RIA.
Patricia Orive Agras
María América Díaz Pampín holds a degree in History from the University of Santiago de Compostela. She completed her studies with a postgraduate in coolhunting and qualitative trend research at the Blanquerna School of Communication in Barcelona and with the Programme in Cultural Enterprise Management at the Galicia Business School. At the foundation, María is in charge of institutional communications.
María América Díaz Pampín
Laura Carro Abarrategui holds a degree in Tourism from the University of A Coruña, specialising in Artistic and Cultural Heritage, and obtained a master’s degree in Cultural Management from the International University of Catalonia, as well as training in cultural communication and curating. After developing her career in the field of cultural management and visual arts, she joined Fundación RIA in 2025, where she is responsible for the public programme and exhibition curation.
Laura Carro Abarrategui
Julia Spackman holds a degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. After working on architectural projects, teaching, publishing and exhibition planning in Los Angeles, Brussels and Zurich, and having been part of David Chipperfield Architects since 2024, she joined Fundación RIA in 2025. At the foundation, she is responsible for academic collaborations and is involved in research and strategy projects.
Julia Spackman
Sergio Zalamea Ochoa holds a degree in architecture from the University of Azuay in Ecuador, having undertaken an exchange programme at the University of São Paulo, as well as a master’s degree from ETSAB (Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona). After working with several architectural practices in Ecuador, he joined Fundación RIA in 2024, where he works in the projects department, carrying out tasks related to territorial analysis and the development of urban and architectural proposals.
Sergio Zalamea Ochoa
Ane Escribano Gallastegui holds a degree in architecture from ETSASS (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de San Sebastián), having undertaken exchange programmes in Ghent and Barcelona, and a master’s degree from ETSAV (Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura del Vallès) in Barcelona. She is currently studying Art History at the UNED. She has previous experience in both architectural practices and cultural institutions. Thanks to a professional training grant from Arquia Foundation, she joined Fundación RIA in 2024, where she works on the development of exhibition content.
Ane Escribano Gallastegui
Bárbara Freire Ares holds a degree in architecture from ETSAC (Escola Técnica Superior de Arquitectura da Coruña) and completed her training with an MBLandArch Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture at ETSAB (Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona). Since 2017, she has been working as a landscape architect, with a particular focus on public spaces. In 2025, she joined Fundación RIA, where she works on landscape and territory-scale projects.
Bárbara Freire Ares
Xoán Vázquez González holds a degree in Media Studies from the University of Santiago de Compostela. In 2025, he joined Fundación RIA, where he works in communications, photography and video.
Xoán Vázquez González
Andrea Riveira López holds a degree in History of Art from the University of Santiago de Compostela and completed her training with an Archive, Museum and Libraries Advance Studies master from the University of A Coruña. She joined Fundación RIA in 2024, where she works in visitor reception and assistance, and carries out document management tasks.
Andrea Riveira López
Violeta Silva Sánchez holds a degree in Journalism from the University of Santiago de Compostela. She completed her studies with a master’s degree in Fashion Communication at the IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) in Madrid. In 2025, she joined Fundación RIA, where she works in communications and visitor reception.
Violeta Silva Sánchez
Vacancies
There are no vacant positions at the moment. Please forward your spontaneous application at info@fundacionria.org
