Skip to main content
Federico Wulff  EU PhD (Doctor Europaeus) Architect

Dr Federico Wulff

EU PhD (Doctor Europaeus) Architect

Reader, Architecture and Urban Design MA AD Course Director

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

Responsibilities

Federico is a Reader in Architecture Design and Urban Design at the WSA, a European researcher, and an award-winning practitioner. He is also the Course Director of the Masters of Architecture Design (MA AD). Federico graduated from the ETSAM (Madrid, Spain) in 1998. In 2007/2008, he was awarded the Rome Prize in Architecture by the Royal Spanish Academy of Rome. He owns a European PhD (Doctor Europaeus), which he completed during his year in Rome at Roma Tre University (Italy) and the ETSAM School of Architecture of Madrid (Spain) and was supervised at Paris-Belleville University (France). He has been recently awarded the Europa Nostra Grand Prix 2019 and the Europa Nostra 2019, the most prestigious European award in Heritage preservation, for his restoration of the Oratory of the Partal Palace, a 14th C. Mosque in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Alhambra (Granada, Spain).

His work in the UK began in 2012 when he was a Visiting Teacher at the Architectural Association (AA) in London. Then, in March 2013, he joined the WSA as a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (IEF) Postdoctoral Senior Researcher leading the EMUVE European Project. His European research project, EMUVE (Euro-Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology) was funded by the European Commission with 220,000 Euros. EMUVE focuses on searching for innovative design methodologies for re-activating urban landscapes in crisis, from the 2008 Economic downturn to the current migrant and refugee crisis.

His practice, W+G Architects, has been awarded 10 first prizes in International Architecture competitions. His projects have addressed a wide range of issues, from public spaces (Eras, Forum) and heritage (Restoration of a 14th. C. mosque in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Alhambra, Spain) to cooperation projects in developing countries (Ethiopia, Morocco), funded by the Spanish Cooperation and Development Agency (AECID).

Publication

2025

2023

2022

2021

2020

2018

2017

2015

2014

2013

  • Wulff, F. and Guirnaldos, M. 2013. Architectural education from socio-economic perspective in environmental design. Presented at: Architectural Education and the Reality of the Ideal. Environmental Design for Innovation in the Postcrisis World. Conference Proceedings of ENHSA 2013, European Network of Heads of Schools of Architecture, Napoli 2-4 Oct. 2013., Naples, Italy, 2-4 Oct. 2013 Presented at Voyatzaki, M. ed.Architectural Education and the Reality of the Ideal. Environmental Design for Innovation in the Postcrisis World. Conference Proceedings of ENHSA 2013, European Network of Heads of Schools of Architecture, Napoli 2-4 Oct. 2013.. Napoli 2-4 Oct. 2013.: ENHSA European Network of Heads of Schools of Architecture pp. 528-540.

2012

  • Wulff, F. 2012. Forum space of Granada, Spain. In: Lee, U. ed. C3 landscape monographs. DLLE Architectural Landscape. Filling Up, Delimiting., Vol. 4. [Forum Space of Granada, Spain]. Seoul, South Korea: C3 Publishing Co., pp. 180-195.
  • Wulff, F. 2012. Public Space for Negocios Event. In: Dlle 4 - Filling Up. Delimiting. William Stout Architecture, pp. 180-195.

Articles

Book sections

Conferences

Monographs

Research

Research interests

1. Architectural and Urban Design in Crisis Times 

2. Migration, Interculturality and Contemporary Architecture and Urban Design: Inter-Cultural Nodes (ICN)

3. Contemporary Architecture Design and Critical Heritage Studies

4. Design Research Methods

Teaching

Teaching profile

Course Director of the Masters of Architecture Design (MA AD).
Unit Leader of EMUVE (Euro-Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology) Design Research Unit, MA AD.
EMUVE European Project UE Marie Curie Senior Researcher, European Commission-WSA, Cardiff University

Biography

Dr Federico Wulff Barreiro is a Reader in Architecture and Urban Design at the Welsh School of Architecture (WSA), a European-funded senior researcher and an award-winning practitioner in contemporary architectural design and heritage preservation.

He holds both the Europa Nostra Grand Prix 2019 and the Europa Nostra 2019 awards for the Restoration of the 14thC. Palatine mosque of the Oratory of the Partal Palace in the Alhambra of Granada (Spain), UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Europa Nostra Grand Prix, promoted by the European Commission (EU), is the most prestigious award in architectural heritage at the European Level. The Alhambra UNESCO Worldwide Heritage Site is a world-renowned heritage site in Spain and one of the most visited worldwide.

Dr Federico Wulff's practice, W+G Architects, has won 10 first prizes and one mention award in international architectural and urban design competitions in Spain, Chile, and Morocco.

He has received the Rome Prize in Architecture from the Royal Spanish Academy of Rome (RAER).

He has co-authored five books, nine chapters of books, and 30 articles in top-ranked peer-reviewed journals in international architecture and urban design, such as Urban Design International (UK), Metalocus (Spain), Agathon (Italy), Urban Design and Planning (UK), Built Heritage (China), Paisea (Spain), C3 (Korea), L'Architecture du Maroc (Morocco), and Arquitectura Ibérica (Portugal), amongst others.

His design, research, and teaching work have been exhibited at 21 international exhibitions in the UK, Spain, Chile, Italy, Morocco, and Brazil. His EMUVE (Euro-Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology) European research project was exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016. 

He is the Course Director of the Masters of Architecture Design (MA AD) at the WSA.

He founded his practice W+G Architects in 2007, together with Dr Melina Guirnaldos.

The aim of W+G Architects has been to develop design and strategic projects in five design research fields:

1. Post-crisis reactivation strategies at architectural and urban scales

2. Contemporary approaches to heritage preservation and recycling

3. Landscape recovery interventions in cooperation projects in developing countries

4. Socially-inclusive and Intercultural Public Spaces

5. Contemporary domestic spaces and micro-architecture

Our conceptual research has informed the exploration of new design methodologies for addressing contemporary challenges. In addition, our design processes aim to be defined as research, with further theorisation within a rich and creative dialectic relation between theory, practice, users, and context. This complex iteractive process constitutes the essential framework of our practice and academic research. Thus, our conceptual and practice-based research has become highly adaptive to very different geographical, conceptual and socio-economic contexts, such as our research on reactivation strategies for crisis contexts in Western Europe, our cooperation projects in Africa, the inclusive and intercultural public spaces in Europe and our preservation projects on medieval hispano-Muslim heritage sites. Finally, I would like to highlight the urban regeneration master plan of Bulnes Avenue urban district of Santiago de Chile (Chile), awarded with the Special Mention of the jury on an International Competition promoted by the Government of Chile.

Among the projects of urban landscape reactivation, we would highlight the public spaces Eras and Forum (Spain), both selected at the VI European Biennial of Landscape Architecture of Barcelona (Spain) and the Biennale of Architecture of Sao Paolo (Brazil).

The most important cooperation projects related to contemporary interventions in heritage contexts and social inclusion are the Landscape Intervention and Restoration of the 17th-century Palace of the Emperor Susenyos and the Jesuit Cathedral of Ethiopia in Danqaz (Ethiopia), funded by the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID), and the Landscape Recovery of the Caves of Hercules site, in Tangiers (Morocco), funded by the European Union (EU Interreg programme).

Honours and awards

A. Academic and Professional Awards

Europa Nostra Grand Prix (2019)

Europa Nostra award (2019)

Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship 2013. EMUVE Project. European Commission EU (2013).

Rome Prize in Architecture. Royal Academy of Spain in Rome, Italy (2007)

Special Mention, 16th Awards of Urbanism and Architecture. Madrid City Council (Spain). (2001).

B. International Awards in Architecture Design and Urban Design Competitions

  • Honorific Mention, International urban prize for the new Master Plan of Government Area - Bulnes Boulevard.                  Santiago de Chile, Chile (2013)
  • 1st Prize awarded, Landscape Recovery around the Caves of Hercules, Tangiers (Morocco). European Union (2007)
  • 1st Prize awarded, Eras de Cristo public space. Granada City Council. Spain (2005)                                                    Selected Project at the VI European Landscape Biennale, Barcelona (2010).
  • 1st Prize awarded, 14 Social Housing in Lubrin (Almería, Spain). Andalucía Regional Government, 2005
  • 1st Prize awarded, 8 Contemporary social housing within the 16thC. Historic City Center of Baeza (Jaén, Spain). Andalucía Regional Government (2004)
  • 1st Prize awarded, 16thC. San Jeronimo renaissance Monastery Public Space and Car Park. Granada City Council, Spain (2001).
  • 1 st Prize awarded, Public Space and Car Park, Arabialst . Granada City Council, Spain. (2001)
  • 1st Prize awarded, The White Box Youth Center. San Sebastián de los Reyes City Council, Madrid, Spain. (2000).
  • 1st Prize awarded, Institutional Wine Cellar for La Rioja Regional Government. Logroño, Spain. (2000)
  • 1st Prize awarded, Recycling of the former South Central Coach Station of Madrid into the Arganzuela District Civic Center (1998).                                                                                                                                                          Programme: Sports Center, 2 Swimming pools, Cultural Center, Elderly Center, Public Spaces. (25.000 sqm. / 6M€) Selected Project, 2008 Madrid Architectural Week. Cultural Foundation of the Architects Institute of Madrid (FUCOAM).    Special Mention, 16th Awards of Urbanism and Architecture, Madrid City Council, Spain (2001)

Professional memberships

  • Member of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies (ACHS)
  • Member of Hispania Nostra

Academic positions

  • 2024-Present: Reader, Cardiff University 
  • 2015-2024: Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University
  • 2013-2015: Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (IEF) Researcher, Cardiff University
  • 2012: Visiting Lecturer, Architectural Association (AA)
  • 2004-2013: Lecturer, School of Architecture of Granada (ETSAG), University of Granada (UGR), Spain.
  • 2011: Arquímedes National Doctoral Program Reviewer. Ministry of Education of Spain.

Committees and reviewing

  • Editorial Board Member of Agathon Journal (Italy). www.agathon.it. 2019.
  • Peer reviewer, Journal of International Heritage, Springer (UK). 2020.
  • Peer reviewer, Architectural Research Quarterly (ARQ). Cambridge University Press (UK). 2015.
  • Peer reviewer, Urban Design International (UDI) Journal. Palgrave (UK). 2018-2019.
  • Peer reviewer, International Planning Studies Journal. (UK). March- April 2019.
  • Co-Supervisor of European Doctoral Theses (Assessor for Doctor Europaeus Mention)
    • Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (ETSAM), Universidad Politecnica Madrid (Spain). Nov.2015. (Co-supervisors: Prof. Manuel Gausa Navarro (Genova, Italy), Prof. Federico Soriano (ETSAM Madrid)
    • Facolta di Architettura, Universita di Palermo (Italy). December 2014. (Co-supervisor: Prof. Renzo Lecardane)

Supervisions

Current supervision

Yiran Wang

Yiran Wang

Ked Wangyao

Ked Wangyao

Adell Awaj

Adell Awaj

Hadjer Messabih

Hadjer Messabih

Contact Details

Research themes

Specialisms

  • design research
  • contemporary architecture in heritage contexts
  • socially inclusive design
  • Inter-Cultural Nodes (ICN)
  • urban design and public spaces