The proposal of the PhD Program in Architecture is justified in the current historical and territorial context of the University of Alcalá in different terms:
Social: we are architectural beings. The majority of the population lives in cities (more than 50% in the world and over 85% in developed countries) and practically the whole lives in built environments, independent of their spatial and constructive quality. These data support the importance of deepening the disciplines related to the understanding, configuration and management of living space. To these general considerations, in the specific case of Spain and the Corredor del Henares, there is a need to rethink the architectural and urbanistic work in a deep context of economic crisis and in the future that requires addressing the new challenges of increasing urbanization, scarcity of resources and sustainability.
Professionals: the transformation experienced by the project, construction and management processes of cities and buildings, added to the new disciplinary challenges – improvement of the living conditions of a large part of the world population, the construction of healthier and more livable spaces, the needs of energy saving and control of the useful life of buildings … – justify the implementation of postgraduate studies in these areas. Proof of this is the growing demand of our University Master’s Degree in Advanced Architecture and City Projects (MUPAAC) and the Doctoral Program that follows it. Demand that concerns both Spanish and foreign professionals, especially Latin American. In turn, the city of Alcalá de Henares as a World Heritage Site and its radius of influence extendable to the province of Guadalajara, offers ample possibilities for professional practice in the field of intervention in the city and in pre-existing architecture. The future of the profession should be considered as an alternative, or in parallel to the extensive growth of urban and territorial construction, the field of heritage rehabilitation as a sign of awareness towards environmental quality.
Academics and scientists: the requested Doctorate Program derives from an earlier postgraduate course of the same name (RD 1393 / 2007. Code D 323) implemented in 2009. Postgraduate courses in architecture have been developing since it is included in university degrees, with a positive result in terms of discipline . This is so because these studies, including the one presented here, by introducing the methods of scientific research into a traditionally practical profession, have expanded disciplinary knowledge and procedures and opened new horizons that aim to respond to new spatial requirements and requirements. a society and a medium each in constant transformation. In our case, the proposed priority research lines have been developed with considerable demand both in the MUPAAC and in the doctoral theses registered, which in turn are a clear reflection of the lines endorsed by the Department’s research teams. towards fields of study adapted / adapted to the professional outlets and to the lines that favor the R + D + i programs in the field of architecture: the environmental aspects, the technological innovation and the intervention in the city, in the landscape and in the pre-existing / past architecture. The profile / personality of the former Architect degree and the new Degree in Architecture of the UAH School of Architecture are built on these three aspects.