Raquel Peña

Architect, specialized in Development of Precarious Human Settlements from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, specialized in Restoration and Rehabilitation of Old Buildings from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and holding a Master’s degree in Exhibition Design and Management from the Universidad Europea de Madrid.

I completed my postgraduate internship at the United Nations Department of Architecture and Construction at its New York headquarters. At the beginning of my professional career, associated with the NGO Architecture Without Borders for over 10 years in the development of awareness-raising and cooperation projects, I also worked during those early years in various architecture practices on social architectural projects tied to the area of sustainability.

In 2012, I co-founded Terrachidia alongside four colleagues—Carmen Moreno, Marta Colmenares, Alejandro García, and Oriol Domínguez—a social innovation and heritage protection project that currently remains at the core of my professional activity. Terrachidia carries out heritage protection projects in various locations across North Africa and Spain, employing local materials and traditional construction techniques, as well as local labor. Furthermore, it incorporates ‘training and capacity building’ for both local youth and participants coming from elsewhere. Throughout its trajectory, Terrachidia has received several awards, such as the INTBAU, the Philippe Rothier, and most recently, the Ammodo award.

This teaching vocation is complemented by intermittent work tutoring student projects at various Spanish universities, guiding students in the fields of architecture and urbanism.

In 2017, I co-founded maraq S.C. alongside Carmen Moreno and Marta Colmenares, an architecture practice that I currently share and develop alongside Carmen Moreno, focused in Spain on the fields of architecture, urbanism, landscape, and heritage conservation and protection.