Architect Rosa Cervera, founder of Cervera Arquitectos and former Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Alcalá, will be honored during the third William F. Baker International Research and Design Forum for her contributions to the field of architecture through scientific inquiry and innovation.
Rosa Cervera.
Architect Rosa Cervera will be presented with the recognition by Mark Sarkisian, SOM Structural and Seismic Engineering Partner.
“Rosa Cervera is an exceptional architect who has devoted her career to design informed by research. As a professor in the School of Architecture at the Universidad of Alcalá in Madrid, she has educated hundreds of students stressing the importance of architecture based on the principles of nature. Her work is informed by a deep understanding of place derived from the environment in which the work exists. She is respectful of history and takes great care in transforming heritage buildings in Spain into facilities for use today. She has developed designs of the vertical city where futuristic buildings are conceived to address density and be self-sufficient. Her work is exemplary of the mission of the William F. Baker International Research and Design Forum.”
Mark Sarkisian
Rosa Cervera is a PhD architect and full professor at the University of Alcalá, where she also served as Dean of the School of Architecture (2004–2007) and Director of the Master’s Program in Advanced Architecture and Urban City (2006–2023). Her academic training was complemented by studies in Salzburg (Sommerakademie für Bildende Kunst), Esztergom (Hungary), and New York (Columbia University), as well as a Higher Degree in Piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid. She has been a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University (2009) and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Miami (2015).
Founder of Cervera Arquitectos (and formerly of Cervera & Pioz), her professional work spans Spain, Russia, China, India, Malaysia, and Bolivia, and has been recognized with awards including the Knowledge Transfer Award (received twice), the Golden Global Award, the COAM Research Award, and the Antonio Maura Award for Scientific Research from the City of Madrid. Her research and practice focus on the application of bionics and biomimetics to architecture, integrating natural principles into the design of efficient, environmentally responsible structures. Among her emblematic projects is the Bionic Tower, a prototype of a self-sustaining vertical city. Her most recent investigations explore the use of living organisms in construction, particularly through architectural photobioreactors with microalgae.
Cervera has lectured extensively at universities and professional institutions across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Her work has been widely published and exhibited, most recently in the monograph Diálogo Arquitectura Naturaleza (2024). She is also the author of several books and articles, including Architecture Inspired by Nature: Experimenting Bionics (2023), Bionics, Biomimetics and Architecture (2019), Space and Time in Architectural Composition (2018), Mumbai: Re-envisioning the Slum (2013), and Madrid, Ciudad Reciclada (2011).
Owing to her long-standing collaboration with China, she served as President of the Asociación Cátedra China (2020–2024) and now sits on the board of the Hispanic Association for Chinese Studies, fostering academic and cultural exchange between both countries.
A pioneer among women architects of her generation, Cervera combines innovation, scientific inquiry, and environmental commitment, shaping a new model of nature-inspired and socially engaged architecture.
Proposal for a Bionic Tower, Vertical Garden City, Shanghai. © Cervera & Pioz Arquitectos.
Tai Da Plaza, Chengdu, China. © Cervera & Pioz Arquitectos.
Microalgae façade, Photobioreactor, ESMASA, Alcalá, Spain. © Cervera Arquitectos.
Couder Tennis Club, Madrid. Photograph by Adolfo Golsalvez © Cervera &Pioz Arquitectos.
Residence in Madrid. © Cervera Arquitectos.
