At our Guayaquil Campus, in the David Samaniego Torres auditorium, we hosted the keynote lecture “From Challenge to Opportunity: Sustainable Architecture for Changing Times,” given by Fernandina Valdebenito, Sustainability Manager at Carpus+Partner AG in Germany. The event became a valuable space for reflection and learning for our Civil Engineering and Architecture students, who examined the new challenges their profession faces amid environmental, social and urban change.
Climate impacts in Ecuador and sustainable architecture
During the session, we took an in-depth look at the main climate impacts facing Ecuador, such as rising temperatures, variable rainfall, floods, droughts, landslides, extreme events like El Niño and water stress in various regions. In light of this reality, the expert stressed that climate action and resilient construction are not an obstacle, but a valuable opportunity.
To achieve this, architectural design must harmoniously integrate people with their surroundings and promote the use of renewable resources, always keeping in mind that sustainability rests on three inseparable pillars: environmental, economic and social. The talk left us with an important lesson: every challenge holds an opportunity, and the decision to act is in our hands.
In this context, she underscored the importance of holding these events: “Without these spaces, we lose the chance to inspire students who are interested in sustainability but don’t know that these techniques are already a reality elsewhere. Here we act as facilitators of information so they can learn it and apply it,” Valdebenito said.
20 years educating professionals at ECOTEC
As it marks 20 years as an institution, ECOTEC University stands as a benchmark of excellence, innovation and sustainability in Ecuador’s higher education. Over these two decades, we have reaffirmed our mission to educate entrepreneurial, humanistic professionals who contribute to Ecuador’s social, economic and ecological development in a globalized world. Today, more than ever, we continue to strengthen an academic community that delivers real solutions, encouraging new generations of professionals to live our institutional purpose: to explore new frontiers of knowledge, lead impactful projects and transform society toward a better future.
