EASA Shanzai 2024 event concludes with more than 500 architecture students and more than 30 projects about their experience in Benidorm

The European Assembly of Architecture Students (EASA) 2024, held in Benidorm for two weeks, ended with a closing ceremony held in the municipal Assembly Hall, packed for the occasion with a good part of the students who took part in this event.

Around five hundred architecture students from more than twenty countries attended this 44th annual meeting. Between them, they developed around 30 projects that summarise their experience in Benidorm, as well as workshops, ephemeral constructions, audiovisual projections, talks and interactions with citizens and the urban fabric.

The spirit of this assembly “aims to follow the example of those students who 50 years ago went to Las Vegas to learn about the American city, in this case exploring the landscape of Benidorm and delving into its sustainability strategies and the various urban scenes it has”, as they reiterated at the closing ceremony.

An event that began with a visit by members of the corporation to the exhibition in the Plaza de SS MM Los Reyes de España of all the projects carried out these days. Among them, is a floating structure made without spending money and only with materials found in the city. Also a meditation space in which one experiments with the wind, a human-scale 'egg box' and the different functions it can have, an ice machine and ice creams of different flavours that have moved throughout the city or the 'Magical Tower' that reflects an Eiffel Tower in Benidorm through mirrors.

Also attracting attention is the so-called 'The pleasure map', a map of the city made by them that includes the places visited, the moments lived during their stay, the routes they have followed or their interactions with tourists and neighbours. In this creation, they have also documented their experiences in the city in the form of projects and creations.

Once inside the Assembly Hall, a video was shown summarising the days they spent in Benidorm, with their activities and experiences at this EASA 2024, as well as at the Mestre Gaspar López school, where they had their headquarters. At the closing ceremony, the Councillor for Urban Planning and spokesperson for the local government, Lourdes Caselles, told them that they have become “a different note in the Benidorm summer” and pointed out that “they have been able to convey very well what they do”. She also indicated that “if at any time you do not have a venue to celebrate the EASA, we will wait for you here again”. Caselles concluded by wishing them “good luck” at next year's EASA, which will take place in Finland.