I was Born in Ávila, Spain, 15/12/1969

I got my Bachelor Degree in architecture by the School of Architecture at the  Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) in 1995. Specialist in installations and Facilities in building Refurbishment and Renovation. PhD from the UPM in 2004, as a result of four years Grant (1996-1999) for university teaching training. Thesis title: “Stabilization of clay mortar for the protection of earth walls.”

Since 1999 I´ve been sharing my time between professional works and academic activities at the University:

TEACHING AT UNIVERSITY

Formerly: (1999-2004) Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Alcalá (UAH) School of Architecture in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). Courses: “Construction Materials” and “Buliding Construction”

Currently: (since 2005-) PhD Professor, Department of Civil and Building Engineering at the University of Castilla – La Mancha. Teaching at Polytechnic School in Cuenca in the Degree of Building Engineering.
Courses:  “ Vernacular Construction and construction history”, “Building construction basics”, “Building structures calculations”, “Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in building design”
Since the beginning of my academic activity I believe firmly in hands-on learning methods which I find the best way to encourage students, you can find some of my experiences in this blog at INNOVATIVE TEACHING EXPERIENCES  (INNOVACION EDUCATIVA)

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS:

Two main lines have kept my interest since I started my pre-doctorate research  until now, and one lead to the other:

Building with earth: Traditional and new earth construction techniques (rammed earth, compressed earth blocks, adobe, and clay plaster). I have participated in several national research projects and also as consultant in earth construction for some modern buildings. You can find some of my relevant latest publications in this field at EARTH CONSTRUCTION (CONSTRUCCIÓN CON TIERRA)

Energy efficiency in buildings and environmental assessment: I´m associated member and hold the title of EA (Evaluador Acreditado) by Green Building Council -España (2011), and I´m associated member of the Spanish passivhaus association. (Plataforma Española Passivhaus). As a result of my involvement in this issue I lead my university team in the international competition SOLARDECATHLON2014, where we focused our project “syimbcity” on the regeneration of existing buildings and experimented passive and bioclimatic design strategies as the main issue to get indoor comfort conditions. I´m also a researcher on the current I+D national projects: “Calibration of BIM models by means of low cost sensors for the energy optimization of buildings”, “BIM Thermal: automatic creation and monitoring of three-dimensional thermal models in building interiors”