Professors receive award from the Spanish Council of Architects

JULY 28, 2025

BY Shyla Krishnappa

The Spanish Urbanism Prize 2025 was awarded by the Spanish Council of Architects ex aequo to aldayjover architecture and landscape, founded by professors Iñaki Alday and Margarita Jover. The prize was awarded for the river restoration strategy for the Manzanares River in the municipality of Madrid

The Manzanares Metropolitan Forest Project aims to ecologically and landscape-wise restore the degraded river area. It focuses on naturalizing the Manzanares River, recovering riparian ecosystems, and creating wetlands and floodplain terraces to reduce flood risks. The project promotes biodiversity, sustainable peri-urban agriculture, and improves pedestrian and cyclist connectivity. It integrates public spaces, uses regenerated water for irrigation, and strengthens the city’s connection to its natural landscape.

With the high level of the finalist proposals, the Jury decided to award two complementary first prizes, enriching a common message that refers to water as a life-giving element, in the face of the tragic experiences of recent times.

The project includes a water strategy that provides a unifying element for territorial planning and management, integrating social, ecological, and cultural processes, fostering community participation through a multidisciplinary approach. In addition, it proposes innovative solutions based on nature and biodiversity that contribute to increasing territorial resilience and, ultimately, improving people's lives. 

After receiving the Spanish Urbanism Prize, awarded by the Spanish Council of Architects, Dean Alday was interviewed on the national public radio 'Radio 4' about architecture, urbanism, ecology, floods and other contemporary challenges for cities.