First-year Architecture PhD student Adrian Fernandez, participated in the Loudreaders Trade School, held at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras from January 8–16, 2026, and organized by Cruz Garcia and Nathalie Frankowski (WAI Think Tank & Iowa State University). Through workshops, discussions, and site visits, the trade school offered a model of architectural pedagogy that repositions learning as a shared, spatial practice grounded in intellectual solidarity. Adrian reflects:
“There was a strong focus on cultivating distributed networks of exchange, connecting designers, artists, activists, and scholars across geographies and disciplines; from filmmakers, historians, to activists, and ecological practitioners. For me, the emphasis on engaging with architecture as both a method and a medium - by learning by doing, reading aloud, thinking and creating together - helped me think through my own practices and methodologies, and how they can be shaped by collaboration, care, experimentation, and networks of solidarity. Through this, I came away more attentive to how architectural knowledge circulates, transforms, and becomes actionable in diverse contexts outside its hegemonic majority.”
The workshop’s intersection of practice, theory, and pedagogy resonates with Adrian’s broader scholarly interests and diverse body of work.
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