Henar Diez Villahoz

Henar Diez Villahoz

Cultural and Spatial Strategies

Socio-spatial justice, cultural strategies, community mediation

(Madrid, Spain) is an architect and urban planner dedicated to the research and design of spatial transformation projects through collaborative cultural practices.

 She has a professional career in urban research, cultural projects management, cultural policies and institutional relations.

Her knowledge about cultural practices and “right to the territory,” has led her to participate in the conceptualization, development and implementation of a Centre for Education during the last two years, among other projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Diez worked as an advisor to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage of Ecuador from 2015 to 2016, where she was in charge of projects carried out as part of the International Conference UN-Habitat III. Previously, she worked at the National Strategy Center for the Right to Territory (CENEDET) researching the development of the Manta-Manaus corridor as part of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America. From 2012 to 2014, she was the Head of Architecture and Participatory Design in the City Museums Foundation, Municipality of Quito, participating in the coordination of the Urban Park Cumandá construction, where cultural and sport uses were integrated to transform a transportation hub in a leisure infrastructure of district scale. From 2010 to 2012, she worked in the cultural section of the Spanish Embassy coordinating the development of cultural projects developed between the Embassy, cultural institutions and artists' collectives in Ecuador.

Her practice has developed in non-formal urban settlements and indigenous communities, municipal museums, popular markets and training schools, both in Latin America and in Sub-Saharan Africa.