For my final undergraduate architecture project, which was based in Valencia, Spain, our brief was to create a public building that responded to the city’s urban growth. My answer was ‘The Valencia Graduate Incubator Programme’, which aims to encourage and support current and newly-graduating students in Valencia to stay in the city beyond their studies and utilise the spaces to further their career successes. The space will offer Valencian graduates priceless exposure to some of the most prominent people in their field of study, as well as a dedicated audience for their work. The building will comprise a spacious public cafe, retail outlets, performance spaces, and workspace, also creating jobs for current students to ease the cost of living in Valencia.
Valencia is home to a rich plethora of creative talents, across many disciplines, thanks to its 8 universities. Past alumni have gone on to become pioneers in various different fields, but perhaps they have been too few in quantity. I would like to capture the talents of this rich pool of prestigious talent, and foster a space where they can deliver their skill to a local audience to generate revenue. This would take on the form of exhibitions, performance and commerce.
Kimberley Spiller | Architecture
