Alberto Villanueva Architecture and Built Environment: Academic Head and Representative Staff Council Elected Chair - MArch, MA, PGCE, FHEA, FRSA, ARB, WCCA

Alberto Villanueva is an architect, Associate Professor and Head of Architecture and Built Environment at Ravensbourne University London.

Originally from the Canary Islands, Alberto trained as an architect and environmental designer in Valladolid and Madrid, and later in London. In 2013, he founded IDEA architecture office in Madrid, an interdisciplinary practice that worked with architecture offices and the public sector on digital crafting, sustainability and social impact. His projects have spanned Spain, South Korea, China, Slovenia, Italy, France, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and even Mars. Mars UTOPIA, his first published research, explored 3D printing and new materials as ways to build in extreme environments. The Royal Academy of Arts highlighted the project, and Dezeen, Designboom, and ArchDaily featured it; it was also exhibited at Fundación Telefónica in Madrid and the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.

In 2017, he was invited to become Spanish Ambassador for Science and Technology to the UK, a programme bringing together diplomacy, science and innovation. The role has since led to close work with successive Spanish Ambassadors and the wider diplomatic community in the UK, building bridges between Spanish and British institutions in culture, education and research. This experience continues to shape his approach to leadership and governance, grounded in dialogue, cultural exchange and international collaboration.

His research examines where emerging technologies meet social impact, from AI in planning and community engagement to digital fabrication and bio-based materials. It also explores cultural heritage through anthropology and spatial practice, looking at how architecture and cities shape, preserve and communicate collective memory. Through the COAC+ (Collaborative Observatory of Architecture and Cities) research lab, which he leads, he recently piloted an AI-assisted community feedback system with the Royal Borough of Greenwich and is now developing a digital twins project on community engagement and urban transformation.

Alberto is closely involved in governance and quality assurance across higher education. For over five years he has served as the elected Academic Staff Governor on Ravensbourne's Board of Governors, sitting on its Finance Committee and its People and Culture Committee, and he is the elected Chair of the Representative Staff Council. Since September 2026, he has also been a Governor of Barking and Dagenham College. Currently an External Examiner at Bath Spa University, he has previously examined at UAL, De Montfort University, De Montfort University Dubai and the University of Liverpool International College. His quality assurance work includes validation panels for the Royal Institute of British Architects and more than twenty other institutions, and he chairs the CIOB Principal Designer Handbook Steering Group.

As a Court Member and Master of Students of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects and a Freeman of the City of London, he supports the City's climate action plan, the Company's education programme and the outreach activities of Temple Bar. A registered architect (ARB), he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of Advance HE, and a member of the Architects Climate Action Network, The Architecture Club, the City Architecture Forum and the British Spanish Society.

Outside work, Alberto supports the Architects Benevolent Society, Open City, Blueprint for All and HomeGrown Plus, plays for local football teams near Ravensbourne, and enjoys hosting Spanish meals for friends and colleagues.