‘The opening of Casa RIA marks a new chapter in the activities of Fundación RIA. As well as being the new home of our studio, it is a place of exhibition, debate, research, and dialogue around the issues that influence and shape our environment, and define our quality of life. As architects we are too often obsessed with the object, the final product. Through RIA we instead focus on the process, on how decisions get made. Only by becoming part of this process can we make things happen.
The programme of Casa RIA will bring together architects, planners, policy makers, politicians, as well as representatives of the commercial sector and the wider community, to promote the understanding of regional issues within the context of global social and environmental challenges. With this new project we hope to provide a public forum; a space in which we can celebrate ideas, identify challenges and promote debate.’
David Chipperfield
President and founder of Fundación RIA
26 June, 2024 — Casa RIA, a new space for the exchange of ideas, discussion, and multidisciplinary research on sustainable development, will open this Monday 1 June in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
The building is the new headquarters of Fundación RIA, the independent non-profit think tank and agency founded by architect David Chipperfield in 2017 to promote sustainable development and quality of life in the territory of Galicia, in north-west Spain. It provides a dynamic space to expand Fundación RIA’s conversations and multidisciplinary research across Galicia and beyond.
Casa RIA will host a public programme of events, talks, conferences and exhibitions related to the work of Fundación RIA, including urban planning, sustainable territorial management, and design culture. The space, a former sanatorium which has been restored and transformed by David Chipperfield Architects Santiago, also provides educational facilities and accommodation to support research residencies for up to 20 researchers or students, in collaboration with world-leading academic institutions.
Open to the public from 1 July, Casa RIA will begin its public programme of activities with a display of Fundación RIA’s work over the last seven years located in the exhibition space on the ground floor.
With the opening of Casa RIA to the public, A Cantina is being launched as well, as a canteen open to the public during the exhibition space hours. Beyond being a canteen open to the city and supplying the Casa RIA’s staff and residents, A Cantina is a solid research project whose main objective is to consciously and critically value food and the productive sector. Located on the ground floor of Casa RIA, this space directed by Iago Pazos connects the building’s exhibition space with its garden and will help to reinforce RIA’s discourse on the central role that food plays in the sustainable development of the territory.
The building further comprises the offices of David Chipperfield Architects Santiago, whose activity and resources support the work of Fundación RIA. To foster the development of the community, Casa RIA will also offer its exhibition and conference spaces to the promotion of communal initiatives, as a showcase for Galician activities and a platform for disseminating local knowledge.
The opening of Casa RIA marks a significant moment in the development of the foundation which, since 2017, has been linking together strategic planning, administration, and governance with the concerns of the community and the environment through interdisciplinary studies, pilot projects and strategic territorial planning. Casa RIA expands Fundación RIA’s public engagement and research capabilities and affirms its commitment to promoting sustainable development in Galicia.