Study Abroad Expands to Madrid

Photograph of students listening to Professor Miguel Guitart explain Madrid's architecture.

Students participating in the inaugural Madrid study abroad program took “seeing and drawing” tours of the city and developed concept for a “UB- SUNY Cultural Campus” in Madrid. 

Students can now explore Madrid and the historic Catalonia region of Spain through summer study abroad. Led by Miguel Guitart, a visiting faculty member in architecture who also practices in Madrid, the program’s opening session last summer featured “seeing and drawing” tours of the city, an in situ seminar on Modern and Contemporary Spanish Architects and weekly guest lecturers. Students incorporated their experiences into their studio project, a

design concept for a “UB-SUNY Cultural Campus” in Madrid. Outside the studio, students savored the cultural and culinary scene of the Spanish capital and ventured beyond to the
cities of Cadiz, Granada, Cordoba, Salamanca and Bilbao. A highlight of the 10-week program was the group’s visit to the El Escorial Monastery complex built by King Phillip II in the late 16th century. The World Heritage Site is widely regarded as the most important architectural monument of the Spanish Renaissance.