Bright Future for Global Architecture and Design Alumnus
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On December 4, 2014, Francesco Stumpo, a student of Wentworth Institute of Technology and an alumnus of the spring 2014 CIEE Global Architecture and Design program in Barcelona, was recognized by the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). Stumpo’s project, which he created during his semester abroad on the CIEE program in Barcelona, was chosen to be featured in BSA’s Annual Student Design Showcase and Competition. The top projects were chosen through a competitive selection process and are featured for two months at BSA Space.
Concept Image: A social bridge/Un puente social Riu Besòs, Barcelona
The Besòs River is considerably reduced when it crosses the city’s south area. After extensive urban renewal and upgrading of the river’s water over the years, today the Besòs is a barrier that divides the site into two halves, both facing away from each other.
Stumpo, who is from Venezuela, received a scholarship to attend Wentworth’s “4+1” combined BA/MA architecture program. He took part on the CIEE program in Barcelona as part of his undergraduate degree. He noted that his semester abroad was very different from normal “studio semester” in the sense that they engaged in speculative practice that is defined as “the deliberate formulation of new ideas based on existing knowledge and intelligent projection”. Stumpo’s studio experience included observing properties of water, social interactions, and relationships near sections of the river to create his final concept of a “vertical linear park” (pictured above).