IE School of Architecture & Design showcases interdisciplinary and eco-conscious innovation at Madrid Design Festival 2025

For the second consecutive year, IE School of Architecture & Design, part of IE University, joins the Madrid Design Festival 2025, an international landmark event now in its eighth edition, which promotes design as a driver of positive change and social progress. Under the theme "Redesigning the World," the festival will feature creative practices that transcend the local sphere, offering solutions to global challenges.

IE School of Architecture & Design brings a comprehensive program to Madrid Design Festival, featuring 12 open activities that span interdisciplinary collaboration, digital and material innovation, regenerative design and contemporary craft, cultural narratives, speculative thinking, inclusive and multigenerational design.

"At IE School of Architecture and Design, we aim to contribute a culture of creativity that bridges disciplines, connects communities, and redefines the role of design in building a better world", said Clara Llamas, Academic Director of the Bachelor in Design at IE School of Architecture and Design and curator of the school's participation at MDF2025.

"Our program at Madrid Design Festival 2025 is a reflection of how design can shape the future by addressing pressing global challenges through innovation, collaboration, and regeneration".
Clara Llamas, Academic Director of the Bachelor in Design at IE School of Architecture and Design

Prominent figures in IE School of Architecture & Design’s program include Héctor Serrano, National Design Award recipient, and professor at IE University; Robert Thiemann, a strategist and founder of the iconic Frame magazine; Lucas Muñoz Muñoz, celebrated designer, recent recipient of the Elle Decoration Design Award, and faculty member at IE University; and Kavita Parmar, an award-winning figure in sustainable fashion. 

From 13 to 27 February, activities will be hosted at IE University campuses in Madrid and Segovia, as well as at the Instituto Libre de Enseñanza (ILE) and the Roca Gallery Madrid. Talks, workshops, exhibitions, and panel discussions will engage creatives, students, and the wider public in exploring contemporary design challenges and opportunities:

Meet Matylda (13 February, IE Tower)

Matylda Krzykowski, a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and curator, along with Grazielle Bruscato, Assistant Professor at IE School of Architecture and Design and former Google designer, will explore interdisciplinary creative processes and collaborative design in an interactive session designed as a tea ritual, combining discussion with participatory engagement.

Do you want to be a digital artist? (13 February, IE Tower)

Digital craftsman Gianluca Pugliese, founder of LowPoly and Adjunct Professor at IE School of Architecture and Design, will lead this virtual reality workshop where participants use tools like Gravity Sketch to design artistic virtual spaces, blending tradition with cutting-edge technology.

Weaving sustainability (14 February, ILE)

The workshop explores the intersections between sustainability, traditional craftsmanship, industry, and contemporary design through a collaboration between contemporary weaver Idoia Cuesta and students from IE University's School of Architecture and Design in the Collaborative Design Studio II class, led by Adjunct Professors Álvaro Martín Fidalgo, Arantza Ozaeta, Susana Cámara, and Stefano Fusani. Participants will combine traditional weaving techniques with industrial waste to create wearable headpieces, showcasing sustainable design practices.

Discover, draw, and design the Madrid of the future (15 February, ILE)

This children's workshop lead by Grazielle Bruscato, Assistant Professor at IE School of Architecture and Design and former Google designer, will invite participants to imagine and design Madrid in 2075 through sensory interaction and speculative fiction.

Co-creating a cultural vision and an economic model (15 February, ILE)

Clara Llamas, Academic Director of the IE University Bachelor in Design with brand designer, and IE University Adjunct Professor Davide Fichera , and IE University Bachelor in Design students, will discuss the development of a strategic identity for the local creative collective TetuánCrea. The seminar will showcase the students' ethnographic research and co-creation process, which aims to balance inclusivity, artistic excellence, and economic sustainability, positioning TetuánCrea as a cultural leader in Madrid.

M15 system: Mapping and transforming informal materials in Madrid (18 February, IE Tower)

Lucas Muñoz Muñoz, an independent designer and Adjunct Professor at IE School of Architecture and Design presents a collaborative material research project with IE University's students, exploring the creative reuse of waste materials through mapping and transformation seeking to promote environmental responsibility while supporting the creative community.

The digital frontier: virtual spaces and their place in our world (19 February, ILE)

The panel will address the intersection of virtual and physical design to explore new ways of creating spaces that are functional and forward-thinking. Andrea Caruso, Academic Director of the IE University Master in Interior Design; Pareid, recent winners of the Arquia Innova Award and IE University adjunct faculty, Grandeza Studio, architects and IE University adjunct faculty, Robert Thiemann, a strategist and founder of FRAME magazine, will examine how speculative design and AI-driven tools redefine spatial practices.

Work in progress x CMPLASTIK (21 February, ILE)

This talk and exhibition will explore the creative and sustainable potential of plastic showcasing work-in-progress projects by IE University Design Studio II students, guided by IE University faculty members Héctor Serrano, Miguel Leiro, Eli Gutiérrez, and Pablo Alabau. The students projects utilised CMPlastik's recycled panels exemplifying sustainable design processes for reimagining industrial plastic waste. Brief presentations will tell the project process focusing on development rather than just final outcomes.

Following the thread: Stories of fashion and textiles (22 February, ILE)

Kavita Parmar, an awarded designer and entrepreneur, Beatriz Muñoz Goetsch, an anthropologist, and Inés Quezada, a textile designer and Adjunct Professor in the IE University Fashion Design Program, will explore the cultural narratives behind textiles and their transformation into contemporary fashion, focusing on symbolic colors, patterns that reflect social and cultural movements, and fabrics that help us understand our civilization.

Creating materials for the Symbiocene (22 February, IE University Segovia)

An exhibition accompanied by workshops for children and adults that will showcase biomaterials and their environmental impact. The activity will feature IE University faculty members: Taryn Mead, sustainability scholar;  Ainhoa Garmendia, product design engineer; Lorena Delgado, biomaterials researcher; Susana Cámara, artist; Arantza Ozaeta, architect; and Raquel Buj, an experimental fashion designer.

The future of retail: multigenerational innovation in physical and digital spaces (27 February, Roca Madrid Gallery)

Roca Madrid Gallery): The panel will address how designers can bridge generational gaps by integrating technology, sustainability, and post-humanist design principles with key topics such as designing flexible spaces that evolve with user needs, utilizing digital tools to create immersive and accessible experiences, and balancing tradition and innovation. The activity will feature Andrea Caruso, Academic Director of the IE University Master in Interior Design; Pedro García Carro, IE University faculty and founder of Knowmad Real Estate;  Iñigo Rodríguez-Carmona and Jorge Ponce Dawson from Broadway Malyan; and Cristina Mateo, Vice Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design. 

See our Events section for detailed information and registration at the IE School of Architecture and Design's activities in Madrid Design Festival 2025.