Aida Navarro Redón
now, Mediterranean sea


Aida is an architect, having graduated with honours from the School of Architecture of Valencia (ETSAV) in 2012. She earned her Ph.D. in Architecture, awarded Summa Cum Laude, from the School of Architecture of Madrid in 2020 with research about virtual spaces, using video games as a case study. Additionally, she holds a Master of Research (M.Res) in Architecture from the School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM, 2014) and a Master in Computer Sciences for Video Games from Complutense University (UCM, 2019).

Currently, she holds a lecturing position at Universidad Europea (UE), teaching video games degree and master courses. Simultaneously, she develops her ideas about the concept of play, virtual space & architecture as a virtual space developer & researcher.

Her professional journey encompasses two interconnected paths. On one hand, she has contributed to architectural practices such as RCR Arquitectes, IDOM-ACXT, and Foster & Partners. She has also collaborated with various video game studios, including C77 Entertainment, the Bafta-winner Herobeat Studios, and Calathea Game Studio. Notably, her work on Inner Ashes, a game addressing Alzheimer’s disease, earned a PlayStation Talents Award. Also, as a Ggme & level designer she joined Activision-Microsoft, working with the Maps Team at Digital Legends on Call of Duty. 

For over two years, she was part of the studio of Hispanic-American artist, Daniel Canogar, where she engaged in artistic research around virtuality. In these projects she was involved in collaborations with institutions such as the Prado Museum, the Dubai Expo 2020, Art Basel, ARCO, and the Cancer Research Centre in Spain.

On the other hand, she has cultivated her academic profile by teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at the School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM). For three years, she led the Virtual Project Masters Course in Architectural Communication (MACA), implementing educational innovation projects like SAPIENS, a Spatial Augmented Project for the Innovation of Environments (2018/2019). As a visiting professor, she has contributed to Zaragoza University, the School of Architecture of Valencia, UDIT, and Antonio Nebrija University. Her work has been showcased at prominent venues, including the Venice Biennale (2018), TEDx Talks (2016), Woman in Games (2021), Etopia Centre for Arts & Technology (2022), CentroCentro Madrid (2024) and CENART in Mexico (2022). Additionally, she conducted a short visiting research stint at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL, London) in 2018. 

 In 2019, she was the recipient of a creation grant from the Ministry of Agenda 2030 in Spain for the development of a project exploring abandoned water parks as archaeology of the future within the context of the climate crisis and leisure. Fin de Temporada - the End of Season - is now a finalist for the FAD Awards and Arquia Proxima Prize.


SELECTED TALKS  
  • ‘Archeology of the Future in Level Design’ (15/06/2023) at Madrid Games Show at Matadero Madrid, Spain
  • ‘Video Games & ADHD’ (14/12/2023) in conferences about active education at Fundación Educación Activa & Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, Spain  
  • ‘Future Paths for Virtual Education: Animation & Video Games’ (15/04/2023) Discussion panel in Universidad Europea (UE), Madrid, Spain  
  • ‘How to Design Levels Without Coding’ (10/08/2023) for Women in Games Mexico. DF. Mexico 
  • ‘Unexpected Perspective in Video Games’ (24/05/2021) master class in Degree in Architecture, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, Madrid, Spain  
  • ‘Architectural Space as Playspace’ (14/04/2016) master class in Degree in Interior Design. UDIT, Madrid, Spain 
  • ‘Final Master Thesis VS. Ph.D. Thesis. An Approximation’ (3/10/2016) during Inaugural Conference Week for  MPAA 8. DPA. . ETSAM. Madrid, Spain
  • ‘Public Space is a Gameboard.’ (26/02/2016) in TEDxUPValencia. Valencia. Spain 
  • ‘Public space is a gameboard: the case of Congress building’ (15/04/2015). In 52th International Congress of Young Philosophy. Zaragoza. Spain  

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS  
  • ‘Visible City, City of Play’ Exhibition. Part of the Ph.D. Research. Spring-Summer 2014. CentroCentro Cibeles, Madrid, Spain
  • ‘Video Games: Two Sides of the Screen’ Exhibition. Part of the Ph.D. Researh. Autumn 2022. CENART, Mexico DF, Mexico  
  • ‘CTRL ALT PLAY’ Exhibition. Part of the Ph.D. Researh. Spring 2022. ETOPIA Art & Culture Center, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain 
  • ‘B-E-C-O-M-I-N-G’ Exhibition. Spanish Pavilion. Part of the Master Thesis: Public Space is a Gameboard. Summer 2018. Venice Biennale of Architecture, Venice, Italy

SAY HI
006 PUBLIC SPACE IS A GAMEBOARD
2013-2014


Master Research (M.Res)

Programme in Advanced Architectural Projects (MPAA). Projects Department.
School of Architecture of Madrid. UPM

WITH MERIT
    This work focuses on understanding the concept of play, not only as a mere distraction, but as a possibility to change the use of collective space in the city. 

    The research is structured around a case study. A specially conditioned urban area for power, the Spanish Parliament of the city of Madrid on the application of the play as the mechanism to disconnect the control of the cities and enable its transformation. 

    The project has been showcased in diferent venues such as Architecture Venize Biennale 2018, TEDxTalks or 52th International Congress of Young Philosophy.